


Temping for Yorra and how I Lasted a Week

by MrNeighbourlyWriter



Category: Pokemon - Fandom, Zicraverse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-27
Updated: 2020-11-27
Packaged: 2021-03-10 02:00:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 21,495
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27736495
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MrNeighbourlyWriter/pseuds/MrNeighbourlyWriter
Summary: When Yorra Villeneuve is hospitalized after a terrible encounter with a trainer that sought a death grudge, her gym is quick to fall into discord. Veteran and eccentric trainer of the Aurolux Gym, Cody Myers, takes up the mantle of Gym Leader, becoming a temp in Yorra's absence. Despite believing it'll be a fun time if everyone works together, he quickly finds the responsibility more challenging than anticipated.
Kudos: 3





	Temping for Yorra and how I Lasted a Week

> “How’s Yorra?”  
>  A group of gym trainers waited in a waiting room as their leader was placed in E.R. A doctor glanced at a medical report a nurse showed her before turning their attention to the group leader. “I’ll be frank with you. The damage she’s suffered to her windpipe was greater than we anticipated. The strangulation she endured would be bad enough, but on top of that we’ve discovered her attacker punched her in her old scarring tissue. Given how tender that area is already, scans have picked up her kidneys are in tense condition.”  
>  “What does that mean?”  
>  “It means that we are going to keep her here until she’s stable enough to leave. I’m sorry to give you this news folks. She’s very lucky she had her Pokémon and all of you to bring her here in time. You can always give us a call if you want updates, and we’ll be sure to give a call when you can see her.”  
>  The doctor turned away to return to his work. Left with this information, Cody turned his gaze to the rest of the dark gym trainers. “Now what?”  
>  “Don’t say that Cody. You’re supposed to be number 2.”  
>  Well, by technicality. He wasn’t always. “Kenny, I’m the semi final, and optional trainer that people have to face to battle Yorra. Doesn’t exactly make me next of kin.”  
>  “But you’ve worked for her the longest.”  
>  Intrigued and respected, scared shitless of, and finally tolerated his boss. A fun work pal at best. Never really a friend. “Well, if memory serves correctly, when a gym leader is taken out of commission, temporarily or permanently, they assign a temp to take over until the big wigs can bring a new leader over. Since Yorra isn’t dead, we’ll get a temp.”  
>  “And who will we get?”  
>  Cody looked at the other trainers. If they got a leader that specialized in the same typing, they would be able to keep their jobs. If the leader was an expert in anything other than dark, then every trainer here would be laid off, or quickly need to get a team that suited the theme. The last thing he, and probably Yorra, would want is anyone fired. “I’m going to make some calls. Why don’t we all go home and take a break? I’ll message you when I have answers.”  
>  The trainers reluctantly agreed. Not much they could do here. Kenny smiled, trying to get positive. “I suppose I can see what kind of poke blocks Buttons likes.”  
>  Cody smiled lightly to hide the tired look in his eyes. He often got called Yorra’s belt; keeping all the trainers together for her. It was time to see if he could uphold that. “That’s the spirit.”  
>  ~  
>  “Hi. This is Cody Myers. I’m a gym trainer of Aurolux City.”  
>  “Oh! You’re one of Yorra’s lackies!”  
>  Cody frowned at the deep, almost gross voice behind the phone. He tried not to put any gruff in his reply. “Yes. I’m calling because Yorra is currently being treated at Aurolux Major.”  
>  “So I’ve heard. Shame. This is why I never recommend getting too close to fans. Some major lunatics out there. Don’t stick your dick in crazy, or let the crazy dick get you, eh? Suppose you’re looking for a new job since Yorra decided to kick it for a while.”  
>  Cody was long past the point of casual embarrassment. “Well sir, that’s the subject of why I’m calling. I want to know if the League board has any plans. Are you shutting down the gym for the time being?”  
>  The trainer heard a mean laugh from the phone that made him uncomfortable. “Son, we can’t do that. This region is a major powerhouse for Pokémon battles. If we shut down the gym just because of an injury, then we’d become a mockery. I have people I have to appease, and not just the public.”  
>  “Very well… any immediate plans for a replacement?”  
>  “Well, since this is still pretty fresh, we’re still looking. Thinking about maybe bringing up a leader from the minor league to take over. Ehhhh, maybe a fire leader.”  
>  Cody squeezed his phone, taking a moment to think over other options. He wasn’t going to lose his job because of the events of two terrible weeks that lead to this moment. “Wait.”  
>  “Yes? What?”  
>  “What if I were to take over?”  
>  Cody waited on a five second pause over on the line. Did he cross a line? “You? Why would we want some random, heard about natta, nothing trainer to take over? What are your credentials?”  
>  “I’ve worked with Yorra since she started her career as a leader. I have Pokémon that I’ve trained for use outside the gym as a trainer that I could bring in for the role of a temporary leader. Pokémon I’ve used to reign in wild attacks on locals. I know every trainer around the gym, as well as the ins and outs of the complex. And if you keep me, you’ll save your costs to renovate around another leader's theme.”  
>  Another pause, and Cody waited. He felt the sweat start to drip, anxiety starting to rise. Finally, he got his answer. There wasn’t much enthusiasm behind it. “What’s your name again?”  
>  “Cody. Cody Myers.” The trainer wondered if the prick cared to pay attention to a single word he said.  
>  “That’s a terrible name. Well Cody, if you want the position, come by the administration office with a plan on how you’ll lead and your leaders' written consent that you can step in for her during such trying circumstances.”  
>  “Thank you, sir.”  
>  There was a grunt of approval, as if being called sir was the right step to take. “You’re welcome. We can close the gym for two weeks. That is all. Have a good day Mr. Cody.”  
>  When Cody saw the call hang up, he fell back onto his couch. Buddy, his Houndoom, looked up from the carpet he was lying on. Sensing distress from his friend, the dog got up to nuzzle its head against Cody’s leg. The trainer looked down to rub the canine’s head. “We got a lot of work ahead of us Buddy.”  
>  The forked tail wagged one before Buddy gave a gruff in response to his pal. Cody smiled, patting his side. “Glad I can count on you boy.”  
>  ~  
>  The next day, Cody glanced at his watch, waiting to be allowed into Aurolux Major Hospital. After filling out paperwork for the purpose of his visit, he found out that doctors were screening visitors to Yorra out of fear someone else wanted to finish the job. Cody almost found it laughable. Yorra wasn’t some political leader. She just happened to piss off a few people throughout her life due to some very poor actions she took.  
>  A pink haired nurse smiled at Cody, leading him down to Yorra’s room. “She’s stabilized since yesterday which is good. However, I need to warn you, she’s not much for words at the moment. Poor thing. I think it’s fantastic that she has such loyal friends to look after her.”  
>  “I’m actual just a co-worker.”  
>  “I understand dear.” She gestured to the door. “Just give anyone a holler if you need anything.”  
>  “I will. Thank you.”  
>  As the nurse was walking away, Cody opened the door to Yorra’s room. The first thing he noticed was the oxygen pump she was set up with. The next was a very large, and very imposing cat standing up from a chair. He growled at Cody, baring fangs towards him.  
>  “Easy Buttons! It’s me, Cody. I work at the Aurolux Gym for Yorra. Come on big guy, I’m not going to hurt her. How could I when she has such a loyal companion like you here to watch out for her. So for the love of god, don’t suplex me, please.”  
>  The fiery Pokémon seemed content, meowing for him to enter. They could easily break his spine in half if need be later.  
>  Stepping inside, Cody noticed a much calmer and still Bisharp standing in the corner of the room holding an Ipad. From the little device Japanese speech was playing. The Bisharp glanced up from their program before looking back down. Didn’t seem that Yorra had any of her other Pokémon guarding her, but between the two here, she didn’t need much more.  
>  Pulling up a chair, very slowly as to not upset her guardians, Cody sat next to Yorra.  
>  “Boss? You awake?”  
>  No response. Cody lowered his head, pushing a hand through his light brunette hair. Finally, he let out a long sigh, letting his shoulders drop and his eyes look as tired as he felt. “You’re pitiful like this, you know that? When did the best gym leader I know go from the star of Aurolux Gym to… to its shadowy whore?”  
>  Buttons glanced at Cody to watch his mouth with a stem of a fire coming from his mouth. “I’m sorry. But it's true. Did I miss something? I know we kept a fairly professional relationship, but couldn’t you have told any of us if you were in trouble? I think we would have helped. Because I would have liked to know what made you go from that fun, excited trainer I met into that demon.”  
>  Cody’s face grew dark, looking at Buttons. “I think halfway through that terrible period of our lives, I actively did my best to win battles. I even goaded trainers into accepting my challenge, seeing battles as less of a game.” Back to Yorra, he shook his head. “Never helped, given you put regulations on us. Experience of Pokémon we could use and amount in battle. I think you wanted to hurt people. I don’t know who the fuck hurt you for you to give into barbarism, but anyone of us would have put them six feet under if we knew the damage that they’d do to you. You became everything a dark trainer should be feared for. I became so scared of you… Well, I am scared of you still. You can be pretty intense when you want to be, even now. Never wanted to be though.”  
>  Cody hung his head low as Buttons let out a melancholic purr. Stirring from the bed, Yorra’s green eyes slowly opened up. “…W-who’s there?”  
>  Slowly scanning the room so as to not hurt her neck, Yorra saw her employee sitting next to her. “Cody?”  
>  “Hey boss. Anyone else come to see you yet?”  
>  “Jules… I think.” Yorra gripped her bedsheets, still physically exhausted. “Why are you here?”  
>  “Well, to talk about my job. As well as all the other trainers at the gym.”  
>  Yorra closed her eyes and groaned. “I can give you all a cheque and you can move onto the next career.”  
>  Cody blinked in surprise at first. Quickly, though, his expression turned to a disgusted fury. “Move onto the next career? Are you fucking with me? Bitch, I came all the way up here to help save your gym. No cheque you can write me anyways is enough for the University debt I’d need to pay off.”  
>  “Pissy much? What are you talking about anyways about running my gym?” Yorra said, very little energy in her voice.  
>  “I’m talking about the league administration that is looking to replace you. Temporarily for you I should literate, but if they bring up someone from the minor league, then they’ll kick every trainer who worked for you out.”  
>  Yorra clenched her fist with a deep breath. She actually tried to stand up from her bed. Cody was taken aback by the sheer will she had in her. Did she really want to get back to work? It didn’t matter though, for her body was too exhausted to take her even a centimeter off the bed. Breathing slowly, she rested her head back onto the pillow. “I can’t have that. We can’t let trainers have an easy win simply because I’m gone.”  
>  “Well, Didier can stop trainers from completing the set.”  
>  It was very faint, but the look Yorra gave Cody didn’t match the frailty of her voice. “I’ll die in this bed before I give that asshole the satisfaction of gatekeeping for me.”  
>  Cody cleared his throat to get rid of any hiccups. Like he said before, when she wanted to, she could become absolutely frightening. “Of course. That’s why I wanted to come to you with a proposition. Let me lead the Dark Gym until you get back.”  
>  Yorra took a few breaths, her fingers fiddling with the bed sheets as she came up with a decision. “Are you going to do your best to let as few trainers win as possible?”  
>  “Doing my best from physically crippling trainers or their Pokémon? Yeah, I’m going to give it my best.”  
>  “Good. That’s really the best I can ask.”  
>  Cody took his backpack and reached in for a clipboard. “If we can make it official, can I have you sign your name here? And maybe have let me have access to your league accounts?”  
>  Yorra held the pen very gently, glancing up to the trainer before signing. “Please tell me you aren’t going to go ballistic with any changes.”  
>  “No. Well, maybe some renovations for an intimidation factor. I want trainers to really work for that badge. Maybe get discouraged from even fighting me.”  
>  Sighing, she signed her name on the document. “Well, don’t do anything too drastic. I’m rebuilding back to my image when I’m… back to fifty percent.”  
>  “F-fifty?”  
>  “Don’t need to be a hundred to run my gym.”  
>  “Boss, that’s- never mind. What else would I expect from the infamous Yorra Villeneuve?” Taking the document from her, he smiled lightly. “Thank you for giving us a chance.”  
>  “If you let one trainer win, I just might have you reassigned to Lower Zicra.”  
>  Cody couldn’t stop a worried chuckle from leaving him. “Funny. I won’t let you down.”  
>  Lower Zicra? That gave him an idea though. And a sinister theme to work with.  
>  After he was long gone, Yorra looked out the window with dead and desolate eyes. “A demon, huh? Not too far off.”  
>  ~  
>  Cody sat down at a table with a fresh Caramel Frappuccino in his hand as Aurolux Pokémon and trainers alike gathered around. “Alright everyone! Let’s start off this day with good news. First off, none of us are losing our jobs! Both Yorra and the League Administration has given us the all clear to keep our Dark Gym up and running.”  
>  A collective hooray was shared amongst all the trainers. “That’s fantastic!”  
>  “Thank you Jess. With that in mind, second good news is that I will be taking over as the temp gym leader.”  
>  “Gym Leader ‘Cody’ really strikes the fear into the heart of trainers”, another trainer snickered as he put finger quotes around his name.  
>  Cody in turn, shrugged in agreement. “You’re right. On my own, Cody won’t be the force that is going to hold back the tidal wave of trainers that will think our gym will be cakewalk with Yorra gone. That’s why the Keystone King will take center stage.”  
>  Taking out a suitcase, Cody revealed a costume he painstakingly sewed together himself. A few trainers raised their eyes in surprise and intrigue. One of the other gym members looked at Cody with some concern. “Cody. I know you’re a 3rd drama major, but don’t you think this is rather… silly? This seems just like your ninja costume from before.”  
>  “Not silly at all Xanatos. And because I’m also an English Major, this plot can’t fail. Not if you commit to the idea.”  
>  The gym trainers and organizers got more comfortable. Jess leaned closer over the table with intrigue. She always found Cody’s Ninja routine fun in the gym, especially since he could actually pull off hiding in the dark. “What do you have in mind?”  
>  “We’re the Dark Gym. Dark Pokémon have often been called ‘Evil’ Pokémon. We use Pokémon that aren’t scary in the same way Ghost types are. Anyone can go boo and be done with it. Our Pokémon have an edge to them. We creep into the hearts of trainers and feed them doubts with malice and despair. If we can fill trainers with fear, we can break them. The more trainers we break, the more we can scare off from challenging us in the first place.”  
>  Xanatos folded his arms together, narrowing his eyes at Cody. “Do you want us to cripple Pokémon?”  
>  A silence cut through the room. Cody took a moment to think about what he wanted to say next carefully. “I know that Yorra has left a mark on us for those who have worked for her long enough. We’ve all seen the bloodshed. Be it with Maxima or most recently. To drive a point home, I truly believe she wasn’t in her right mind when she brutalized her opponents. I don’t want anyone to judge her deeply for that. And we aren’t going to do any physical lasting damage if we can help it.”  
>  “Cody. Why are you sticking your neck out for Yorra? Hell, why are you sticking your neck out for us?”  
>  Cody knew that Xanatos never really liked their gym leader as a person, opting to work for her out of respect for her power and chance to battle strong challengers at the gym. The rest of the room waited to see how Cody would reply to such a delicate topic. “Because even though we get tired of cleaning up after her, even when she doesn’t care about her own image, she cares about us. She’s kind of like an older sister to use, yeah?”  
>  “And the man she killed?”  
>  Cody grated his teeth before replying. “Prick had it coming. You don’t come at anyone here with the intent of murder. I’m sure anyone of our own Pokémon would have stepped in and done the same. Hell, I’d slit the fuckers throat myself. Besides, Yorra has done a lot of good.” Even if she didn’t believe in herself. Even if Cody didn’t see as often as he’d like.  
>  The gathering glanced around each other, feeling the tone in the room shift direction. “Yorra was there for your sister Jess; looking out for the youngsters in the hospital to inspire hope. She also steps in when Aurolux’s roads become infested by hordes of wild and violent Pokémon. Darrek. She saved your Mightyena when you were training out too far near the caves.”  
>  “From a swarm of Crobat, yeah.”  
>  “She also gave all of us Dark Trainers a home and a place to hone our skills. We’re mean; hell, we can be down right sons of a and regular brand of bitches at times. And she put those attitudes to use. Even if she’s distanced herself from us in recent times, she allowed us to have a comradery. That’s why we’re going to look after her gym while she’s recovering. Because as much of a pain in the ass she can be, she’s our boss. She gave us the best job that a Pokémon enthusiast can ask for. We’re Ace Trainers of the Dark Gym. We’re the best of the best that Aurolux City can ask for. Now who wants to uphold that?”  
>  The group looked to one another and nodded in agreement, a surge of energy rising like an orchestra cheer flowing up in them. “Yeah! Let’s fucking do it!”  
>  “No one is going to walk over us!”  
>  “Let’s stomp some chumps into the ground!”  
>  Cody chuckled at one of the technician's battle cries. “Stomp some chumps? Simmon. You only have a Magnezone.”  
>  “I think that’s cool, heh. And I’m helping by creating a kickass battle arena, so don’t knock me.”  
>  Xanatos pointed at the costume box again. “This Keystone King persona. You think you can make it work?”  
>  “Well, like I said before. It’s all about commitment. And if we put in the renovations I have in mind; we can keep our status as the best Gym in all of Zicra.”  
>  ~  
>  Cody and the rest of the Aurolux crew spent the week working tirelessly at changing the ins and outs of the gym. As mechanics and technicians worked on the layout of the gym, Cody was preparing all of the trainers.  
>  “Places everyone! Places!!!”  
>  Trainers stepped onto the stage with menacing, but simple costumes on. Most wore black robes with hoods that covered their faces, and those mechanical goggles that could light up the eyes with red. To spice things up they wore real steel gauntlets and had a chain belt for their poke balls to attach to.  
>  Two other members, Xanatos and Jess, wore thick red robes, minus the goggles. Jess moved her shoulders around, surprised by how much mobility she was still allowed. “Hey Xanatos, can you see well behind the hood?”  
>  With a quick adjustment, he nodded. “Now I can. Ask me again when we get put in a dim room to battle.”  
>  For his own part in the prop rehearsal, Cody did a few vocal warm ups as he got the rest of his costume secured on. Coming from behind the curtain, some of the trainers did a double take.  
>  Dressed in black robes with an ebony coloured chest plate covering on top, he had a cape draped over his back. The backside was pitch black, but the inside was a chaotic pattern of purple and sickly green flames. In front of his face under the hood was a mask with the pattern of an odd keystone. From the eye holes were two beady, menacing eyes of orange flame.  
>  Holding a dusk ball in their hands they pointed out to the group and lowered their voice to a hard, shadowy whisper. “Those who challenge the might of Aurolux Cities’ Keystone King and his Dark Disciples will only know despair and defeat.”  
>  Darrek’s Mightyena growled at Cody, yet still backed away. Jess gave him a clap. “Ok dude. That’s a little cool.”  
>  Cody relaxed his shoulders, giving a sigh of relief as he took off the mask to breath easier. From her, that was a major compliment. “I’ll take it. Bloody hell, this costume is heavy.”  
>  “You going to be ok battling in that thing?”  
>  “Should be. I’ve moved around in heavier stuff.”  
>  “Well, if you get winded, you can always take off that chest plate.”  
>  Xanatos smirked. “Naw, Cody will never stop being extra. Even if it causes him to keel over.”  
>  Cody waited for the chuckles to die down before continuing. “Thankfully, the league administration has agreed to allow us to use max trainers from the optional pool. On a condition.”  
>  “What condition? I’m really looking forward to battling”, one of the other trainers asked.  
>  A devilish and excited smile filled Cody’s lips. “Riddles. Our contestants will have to answer five riddles spoken to them in the dark. Once all five riddles are down, they will fight a gauntlet of trainers for every riddle they couldn’t get done.”  
>  “Do we tell them if they got any right?”  
>  “Hell no. They can stew and second guess themselves on everyone.”  
>  Everyone shared in a mean chuckle.  
>  “The riddles are stage 1. Stage two is where Xanatos and Jess come in. You both still know how to do proper mounting right?” When both of them gave him a nod, Cody continued. “Good. You’re going to come riding in from the dark to incite a double battle. If, big if, they get past you, they’ll have to climb up the staircase up to the third floor to battle me. Hopefully by that time they’ll have exhausted their item limit and Pokémon count.”  
>  “You make a new badge for if they get past you?”  
>  Cody’s eyes narrowed, his smile faltering. “Not one trainer is going to get that badge.”  
>  “You sure about that?”  
>  The smile he returned Xanatos wasn’t a genuine one, but one of menace. “You’ll see.”  
>  ~  
>  Clenching his collection of Dark Balls, Cody took a few deep, slow breaths. Today was the day. Today he was going to prove his metal.  
>  Outside the gym, a handful of trainers had gathered. A combination of wanting to take the gym challenge as soon as the gym reopened, and a few wanting to confirm the rumour of Yorra being out of commission. A news crew was waiting outside for a statement from the gym leader, but Cody had someone put them on hold until the day's challengers were defeated.  
>  The gym coordinator at the entrance played up a tale of how darkness had swept up from Lower Zicra and Yorra had become lost when she went out to investigate it.  
>  Sitting in the security room, Cody clicked the sound for the entrance camera to listen in.  
>  “An evil has been unleashed on the Aurolux Gym. Only the strongest of trainers recommended to take on this. No. The bravest! Those without nerves stand no chance going ahead! If you lack wisdom, you’ll be in a world of hurt.”  
>  “That’s right Greg. Keep playing it up for them…” Cody turned his attention to the first trainer heading in for the challenge. Red headed spitfire type by the looks of it. Scanning through the different hidden cameras, Cody watched her progress as she shuffled her way through the dark hallway. She reached the first door way.  
>  Grabbing a microphone, he flipped a switch to turn on communication to the door she was stuck at. Cody spoke in a softer voice then he’d use for the gym leader persona. It was a light whisper of sorts; passing shadow to crawl down one's back.  
>  “Trainer. Answer these riddles five. Judgement will be reserved for fools.”  
>  “What the hell? What kind of stupid ass puzzle is this?!”  
>  Cody took a breath. He wouldn’t let some hack cut his enthusiasm down.  
>  “What can kill all humans, but save us too? Too much of it is bad, but not enough is horrid?”  
>  He watched the girl stammer, thinking for an answer. “Arceus?”  
>  A silence filled the room.  
>  “Is that it?”  
>  “It’s more powerful than God. It’s more evil than the devil. The poor have it, the rich need it.”  
>  “Did I get it or not!?”  
>  Cody simply continued his riddle as she screamed at him. Perhaps it would be best to make a recording for next time.  
>  “If you eat it, you will die. What am I?”  
>  “Oh! I heard this one before! A tale of an Ultra Beast incredibly powerful and deadly! It’s Necrozma!”  
>  Cody moved away from the mic, shaking his head with a pinch to the brow. “What the fuck? No. No it’s not. What the hell is a Necrozma anyways?”  
>  “I am the enemy of all that is good. Five Letters—that is the power of my name. Remove the first and all my evil shall still remain.”  
>  Cody watched her try to puzzle it together. Finally she hung her head low and started to turn around. “Oh, fuck this.”  
>  A fury suddenly sparked up in Cody. “This bitch.” Pressing a button, he had the doors she walked through locked, trapping her inside.  
>  She struggled against the door, kicking it when she wasn’t getting her way. “Let me out! I don’t want to do your stupid riddles!”  
>  “No trainer is allowed to leave my domain. Not until I see your Pokémon fainted and your will broken. You don’t want to do my riddles? Fine.” Cody flipped the switch and allowed the challenger to fight the gauntlet of trainers awaiting her. “I can’t wait to see you fail.”  
>  “Fucking finally! Time to actually battle and stop doing this thinking shit. Worst gym gimmick ever.”  
>  The technicians watched Cody slowly shake in his seat. Was rather concerning. “Bud? You going to be ok, eh?”  
>  “Not now Mark”, he said through gritted teeth.  
>  “… I thought the riddles were kind of cool.”  
>  Watching Kenny initiate the first trainer battle, Cody pressed a few keys to communicate with the other trainers. “All of you are up. I want to see this asshole taken down.”  
>  “What? She didn’t like the riddles?”  
>  “I don’t want someone this stupid getting past you. If she wants a battle you can give her a battle.”  
>  The girl was indeed brute forcing her way through the battles. Fortunately for the gym, brute force only got her so far. After being forced to battle with no item breaks in-between, she lost on her fourth battle.  
>  A Weavile with Substitute and ice beam brought her Garchomp crashing down. The rest of her team was quickly sweeped with her items being stolen by Thief.  
>  “No! That’s unfair!”  
>  The dark trainer pointed to the door. “Tough shit. Get out before I freeze your legs and make you a decoration for the next challengers to see. Actually…”  
>  That creeped her out enough to book it for the exit.  
>  When she was far gone from the grounds, Cody put the regular lights on in the gym and spoke to them through the open speaker. “Great work guys. Marcus. Go get your team healed up. We reset in five minutes everyone.”  
>  ~  
>  The rest of the day went by fairly well. Most of the gym challengers were beaten by the gauntlet. One older gentleman actually got through most of the riddles, so he was able to fight at a significant advantage through the gauntlet.  
>  Being the first trainer to make it the double battle, the old man wasn’t expecting two trainers to ride out towards him. “What devilry is this?”  
>  Cody smiled as he zoomed in on the fear on his face. Jess and Xanatos came riding in from opposite ends of the room on a Rapidash and a Mudsdale respectively. Both of their horses were decorated with leather armour to amplify a more terrifying experience.  
>  Rapidash reared up and let out a battle cry. Atop, Jess pointed down at the old man. “We ride together towards victory.”  
>  “In doing so we’ll trample you into defeat.” Xanatos threw his Pokeball, followed shortly by Jess. The old man seemed troubled to be facing down a double battle.  
>  Inside the observation room, the technicians covered a laugh at seeing Cody tapping his chair in excitement. “That’s perfect. Couldn’t have asked for anything better.”  
>  Although he put up a decent resistance, the double battle overwhelmed the old challenger. Jess’ Drapion cut a deep mark into an opposing Galvantula using a devastating cross poison. As the poor arachnid was sent flying back, Xanatos’ Pangoro brought its fist down on the electric-bug, smashing it into the floor. One more attack and it could face long lasting damage.  
>  Luckily, its trainer had the sense to know when they were defeated. “Lurtz! Return!”  
>  The red light brought the arachnid back to its pokeball, and the old man tilted his head down. “Let us leave this place. This is no victory for us here.”  
>  Cody relaxed in the chair. Picking up his phone, he texted Greg. “Pretty proud of the team. I wonder if Yorra would approve of the victories.”  
>  “Yeah. Well, you got one more trainer coming in.”  
>  Feeling confident that the trainers could handle it, and knowing his riddles got set up as a pre-recording in-between sets, Cody got up to step outside the control room. “Do any of you guys want coffee from the lounge?”  
>  “I’ll take a dark roast.”  
>  It was about fifteen minutes later, but when Cody returned, he saw the trainer was already at Xanatos and Jess’ double battle. “Whoa. What happened?”  
>  “Well, she got most of the riddles right. And she’s been killing it in battle. Absolutely battered Marcus’ Weavile. Think it might have a fractured arm.”  
>  Cody narrowed his eyes on the camera. “Can’t see her face.”  
>  The Pokémon he could make out were a Throh and a Toxicroak.  
>  “Toxicroak! Let that Shiftry know what we think of Yorra’s goons!” On cue, the frog hopped around the strikes of its victim, until it jumped on their shoulders. With their sickle like talons, they stabbed them deep into the back of the Shiftry. Afterwards, the Toxicroak bleached the contents of its stomach out on the poor Shiftry’s face.  
>  As the frog hopped off, the Shiftry swiped its arms around wildly as the acidic contents burned its face. Finally, it fell to the floor. Xanatos called back his last Pokémon as the Throh faced off against Jess’ Drapion.  
>  The Drapion managed to get off a slash with its tail against the fighting mon, but it didn’t bring it down. Cody watched closely, feeling a familiarity from the challenger.  
>  “Throh! Take your revenge. First against this circus freak, then Yorra herself!”  
>  Cody's eyes expanded with awful realization as he saw the Throh throw a devastating punch to Jess’ Drapion. As the scorpion flew to the ground, the fighting Pokémon let out a furious battle cry. The challenger turned around, a cold snarl on her face. “Where’s Yorra? Have her come out and face me! I’m tired of these weaklings.”  
>  An image of a woman with long brown hair and blue eyes glimmered in the direction of the camera. He felt a lump grow in the back of his throat. “Oh no.”  
>  A memory flashed of Cody congratulating a trainer who beat him about a year ago. He didn’t really feel his best and thought he had a tear in his ninja outfit, so he didn’t give it his best. Wishing her luck, the last he saw her with joy on her face was when she waved him goodbye. Cody had no idea that Yorra was starting day one of ‘saving’ trainers from going to Lower Zicra.  
>  The Toxicroak was ready to attack the horses that Xanatos and Jess rode. Wisely, they both pointed in the direction of the final battling stadium. “Just make your way forward. Our leader will deal with you.”  
>  Cody snapped his finger to the camera crew who had been waiting all day to shoot a possible leader battle. The temp insisted that his gym battles, at least the first week, should be televised to give the League Board and the city a sense of what the new Gym Leader could accomplish. “Get your crew set up. Make sure to keep out of the fire zone.”  
>  “Fire zone?”  
>  Grabbing his mask, Cody placed it over his head, knowing the hate of the challenger currently making her way up the stadium steps. Knowing how brutal she was with the gym trainers, that brutality was only to grow when she learned Yorra wasn’t here. “This is going to get destructive.”  
>  ~  
>  The Keystone King’s stadium ring was constructed to look like a dreary chamber of gloom and calamity. Technicians were hard at work producing green flames that circled the entire ring of an old destroyed, throne room . Cody liked to think the atmosphere would weaken a challenger’s resolve.  
>  He looked to the ref, who was going to be a silent observer in all this. They gave him a nod that the challenger was ready.  
>  Looking through the thick green smoke, Cody watched the challenger take a power pose. “Yorra! Come out here! It’s time we settled a score for what you did to me!”  
>  Cody made sure all his Dusk Balls were on his side and his costume was secure. With the microphone inside his suit to amplify his voice, he cracked his neck. It was time to make it or break it.  
>  “Yorra is not your opponent today.” Stepping through the green flames harmlessly, he finally got a good look at her with just his own eyes. “I am, Valeria.”  
>  Two reasons for shock came to the challenger. First, that this figure knew her name. Second, that he wasn’t the fight she was looking for. “Is this a joke?”  
>  “Yorra isn’t here. The Aurolux gym is the property of the Keystone King.”  
>  Valeria sneered at him. He could see that her fist was shaking at her side. “This is a joke. Not even Yorra would replace herself with a bunch of costume hacks. Move aside and bring her out here! Or I’ll beat your face in first to do so!”  
>  The temporary Gym Leader paused. He knew this girl was out for blood. And he’d be damned if that was directed at Yorra again. “What do you think you can accomplish by coming here with your anger? Foolish girl. Even if Yorra was here, you still wouldn’t beat her. You wouldn’t be able to avenge your precious Sawk.”  
>  The indifference that she held for him transformed on the spot to a horrid wrath. The pupils in her eyes shrunk as her hands went to her pokeballs. “What did you say?”  
>  “I know what happened to you. I know what she did. Do you think your vengeance against her is validated? Do you think that you will find justice if you were to hurt her back? All I see is weakling dominated by hate. You might have gained power, but not strength. You’ll never beat Yorra, because you’ll never beat me.”  
>  Valeria threw out her Toxicroak, ready for battle. “If you know what happened, then you were here. That means you are equally responsible. I’ll cut you down first, then Yorra!”  
>  “Let’s go.”  
>  With a throw of a dusk ball, Cody unleashed a Sharpedo right off the bat. “Bruce. Screech terror into them.”  
>  The shark clawed its fin against the stadium floor, making an ear-piercing sound that made the Toxicroak and their trainer grip their ears in pain. Getting her bearings, Valeria ordered her first attack. “Toxicroak! Taunt him! I don’t want that happening again!”  
>  On cue her Toxicroak stuck its long tongue out at the shark.  
>  “Aqua Jet.”  
>  Before Toxicroak could really process the attack coming, the Sharpedo sped at turbo speed towards the frog. Its entire body slammed against it, throwing the frog away. The poisonous Pokémon appeared to be more winded than it should have normally been from a lightweight attack.  
>  “Toxicroak! It made the mistake of getting too close! Use Brick Break!”  
>  Cody grimaced as he saw the frog slam its arms down on the head of his Sharpedo. These trainers sure loved to type advantage their way through gyms. Although heavily damaged, his Sharpedo stayed up. “No. You’re the one who is too close to the abyss. Sharpedo! Crunch down!”  
>  “Shar!”  
>  With a deep bite, the shark sunk its teeth down on the Toxicroak’s stomach. As it dug deeper and shook its head side to side, Cody watched Valeria closely. She had this moment of uncertainty and what he assumed was fear of the past repeating itself. It quickly changed to rage once more. “No! Toxicroak! Belch on that monster!”  
>  The frog dug its hands onto the shark’s body and puked acid down on it. With a glint in its eye, it threw its head in the direction of the Sharpedo’s trainer and threw up in Cody’s direction. The Keystone King raised his left arm to block the acid. He was very glad he bought real steel gauntlets as he watched the poison drip off the metal and burn the floor.  
>  As the ref stood up, Cody held his other hand up to give the silent direction that he was fine. Even if he was burned, he knew it wouldn’t be enough to have his opponent disqualified. If trainers were harmed by stray attacks, then so be it. In Zicra, only the strong survived.  
>  Luckily, although his Sharpedo was done for the count, so was the Toxicroak. The shark’s rough skin pushed the frog just enough over the edge. Each trainer recalled their Pokémon, with the challenger quickly throwing out the next.  
>  On Valerina’s side, she summoned her Throh. Cody wondered what rage she was hoping to unleash with it. “Is this your Sawk’s brother? A spiritual successor? You should leave before they get broken too.”  
>  Cody clearly struck a nerve with that. “S-shut up!”  
>  “You don’t think I didn’t prepare for fighting types?” He considered throwing out his Metagross or his ace but decided against it. Thinking about how she treated his fellow gym members getting here, he decided to toy with her. With the throw of another dusk ball, he threw out his Sableye.  
>  “Come on then. Hit me. Beat me into a pulp. Gain your revenge.” As she grimaced at the typing, Cody stepped forward, throwing an arm downwards. “You can’t. Like your Throh, all you will grasp today is nothing.”  
>  “Prick. Throh, return!” Switching out Pokémon, she brought out a Granbull. Immediately, it was slapped across the face by Sableye. In doing so, it smacked away a bell on its collar.  
>  “Alright Cliff, take that gremlin down. Lick it!”  
>  The Gremlin winced as the Granbull grabbed it by the arms and applied a slick slobbering over its eye. Although it couldn’t be paralyzed due to its typing, it was disturbed by the result enough to miss its next attack.  
>  The Granbull nimbly hopped from place to place as the Sableye tried to furiously claw at it. Feeling more confidence in using a fairy type, Valeria commanded her dog to tear the ghost apart. “Cliff! Play rough with the little gremlin!”  
>  The bulldog growled as it pinned its opponent down. The poor Sableye had no defense as the Granbull clawed, punched, and chewed it down to unconsciousness.  
>  Cody could see that his Pokémon was down for the count. When he tried to call it back, however, the Granbull seemed to purposely throw its way in front of the callback’s laser sighting. It continued to beat on the unconscious Sableye. Valernia’s lips flickered with a malicious grin.  
>  If she wanted to take all her rage out on Yorra, that was one thing. But Cody would be fucking damned if he let that rage be inflicted on his own Pokémon.  
>  Other gym trainers watching and the ref were about to say something when Cody stood up. Throwing his next Houndoom out, the hellhound came to the Sableye’s rescue by sinking its teeth into the Granbull’s arm and throwing it away.  
>  Valerina and her Pokemon both equally scowled at the new contender. “Two Pokémon at once?”  
>  Returning his Sableye, Cody’s hand squeezed tight on a stone he was pulling out of his pocket. “I see that I need to extinguish your resolve completely. I’ll break you down so you can never rise again. Houndoom! Let us match this woman’s rage with our own fire.”  
>  Buddy let out a low growl that turned into a bark. With a flash of light, Cody’s Houndoom mega evolved. This was something he didn’t like to do; not since Maxima’s death. Although he had a team full of potential candidates for mega evolution, he never trained with any of them besides his Houndoom to achieve this form. Not that he’d have the stamina for multiple Pokémon. He could barely do it with Buddy as it was thanks to their long bond; never for too long either. They only gave into the form in times of great need. Or justified fury.  
>  “Houndoom. Inferno.”  
>  Flames flared all around the entire being of the Houndoom. It growled and drooled with anticipation to mark its prey with defeat. Their face contorted into the stuff of nightmares. Every saliva droplet that fell from its mouth evaporated from the heat it was generating before it could even hit the floor. With a loud bark, the hellhound unleashed a barrage of flames at the Granbull. The fairy dog let out a whine as it was bombed with flames. The only reason it wasn’t completely knocked out was due to it raising its arms to protect itself.  
>  Terrible burns ravaged the Granbull’s body. Embers sparked across the stadium arena, with the camera crew needing to put out some fires near their equipment.  
>  Valernia herself slapped her leggings from catching on fire when embers landed on them. “Cliff! Get in there, Play Rough with that mutt from hell!”  
>  “Houndoom. Put that Granbull down.”  
>  Each dog growled at one another, inching closer and closer. As the tension built, the challenger and gym leader locked eyes. Finally, the tension blew apart as the dogs lunged at one another. Each dog clawed at one another, their jaws snapping to get one good bite in if they could. It looked like it was anyone’s game until Granbull managed to pin Houndoom on its back.  
>  “That’s it! Finish it off so we can move onto the next!”  
>  As the Granbull held down its foe with its arm, it raised another, ready to bring it down like a hammer. Cody and Buddy weren’t going to lose without sneaking in a sucker punch.  
>  “Sludge Bomb!”  
>  Houndoom reared its head forward, blasting the Granbull as it was dropping its arm. The torrent of purple poison shot the dog into the green flames burning across the stadium walls. With a large crack in the wall, the Granbull curled into a ball. With a low whine, it dropped its head. It would need a Pokémon centre in the next hour or Houndoom’s toxins would settle in.  
>  Valerina was quick to change her Pokémon. Panic was settling on her face; dread snatching up her heart. “No! I did not dedicate all of my will to crushing Yorra only for some punk in an elaborate Halloween costume to throw me around like garbage! Emboar!”  
>  The massive fire pig flexed its frame out as it was unleashed. With a roar, its flames burned brightly out.  
>  Cody felt a pain shoot up in his heart. The mega evolution was starting to take its toll. On an earpiece in his ear, he heard the team reach out to him. “Hey Cody. It’s Kenny here. She only came in with five Pokémon, and Jess took out a Heracross she was using. We’re going through the camera footage to see if we missed anything, but we don’t think she has any revives on her.”  
>  Two Pokemon left. An Emboar going to lead the charge with a Throh in reserve. He could do this with no more losses.  
>  “Houndoom. Use Confide.”  
>  The Houndoom stalked around the Emboar, both Pokémon conversing with one another. The Emboar looked troubled by something, but then steeled its resolve. It wasn’t to give up on its trainer’s quest until she settled it herself.  
>  Valerina thrust her arm forward to deliver a command, channeling all the frustration in her voice to issue it. “Emboar! Use Head Smash!”  
>  The Emboar ran forward and grasped the Houndoom by the horns. It was too fast for the hellhound to react to, and, with terrible kinetic energy, it brought its head down to deliver an explosion head butt.  
>  His Houndoom’s pain became his own. With a splitting headache, Cody had to swallow down the feeling of iron rising up his throat and resting in his mouth. The Emboar tossed Houndoom away. Hanging by a thread, the dog landed on all fours. Knowing that neither could take it anymore, Cody deactivated the Mega Evolution. Buddy turned back to normal, growling at his opponent.  
>  Spotting Valerina pulling up a full restore, Cody recalled how her last move took a toll on the attacking Pokémon as well. Maybe he should attack and chip her down? Or use a full restore himself?  
>  A new strategy came to mind. Neither Houndoom, his Scizor, or Metagross would be up to taking down this Emboar. So that left one last option.  
>  Letting her take a moment to heal her Emboar, Cody commanded Buddy to use confine once more. With Emboar’s special attack extremely weakened, he recalled his Pokemon. Buddy had done enough. “Return.”  
>  “It doesn’t matter what you unleash next. Emboar! Use Focus Blast!”  
>  Normally, the Pokémon tagging in would take the incoming attack. With a move like Focus Blast, it may have even taken them out in a one hit wonder. Only this wasn’t going to play out like a normal battle.  
>  The Focus blast traveled up the arena floor and at the Pokémon as it came out of its dusk ball. Valerina roared from ear to ear with a sense of pride. “You’re finished before you even began!”  
>  Instead of the blast hitting the Pokemon and traveling straight at Cody as intended, it was nullified on the spot. The room itself grew darker, and from the smoke, a Spiritomb sprung up to announce itself. “HEHEHEHEHAHAHA!!!”  
>  His Ace in the whole. While Buddy was the Pokémon he had the longest relationship with, as well as could learn to harness a mega form, that power couldn’t last for a duration. Spiritomb was their most powerful Pokémon on its own strength; no need for a mega stone.  
>  “Spirtomb. Nasty Plot.”  
>  The ghost cackled, its form swirling around. The technicians put special lights on the roof to match the swirling pattern of the ghost to give the area a menacing effect.  
>  Her nerves getting to her from the atmosphere being projected by the stadium, the gym leader, and his Pokémon, Valerina made safer, but not strategic calls. “E-Emboar! Use Flamethrower!”  
>  The fire launched into the ghost of darkness slightly affected it. It swirled around, the arena hissing in all sorts of different tones. The camera crew turned to the Keystone King as Cody laughed. “Spirtombs need 108 souls to acquire a physical form in this world. I believe that there can be more in them. Zicra is no land that is foreign to bloodshed and death. More so than most countries. And yet, like the others, Spirtomb are rare here. You think there would be more, but no.”  
>  Valerina’s eye twitched and her lip trembled as the gym leader snapped her finger. With a silent command, the Spirtomb launched a barrage of psychic energy as her Emboar.  
>  “You think you have a chance against me? My Spirtomb holds the souls of the worst Zicra has ever seen, and those who could not find proper rest. Souls like Zidane Najjar! I am the master of the soul keeper that holds all these damned beings!” To be truthful, Cody had no idea if that was true or not. He just knew it would make for a terrifying story the P.R could use. “What can you do against me?”  
>  “Go to hell! That’s a croak of lies! Emboar. Hit them with Assurance! We have to avenge Sawk! We have to defeat Yorra!”  
>  The Emboar’s fists grew with blue fire as he launched both of them at the Spirtomb. The smile faded on the ghost. Its ghastly image twisted into a snarl, and it laughed once again.  
>  “You’ve lost. Spirtomb. Deliver a Hyper Beam!”  
>  The dark spirit gladly complied. To add even more damage, it shifted its swirling form through the odd keystone of its body to appear underneath the Emboar. From its mouth, a Hyper Beam blasted the fire pig up, up, up into the roof. A critical hit and a loud explosion rocked the Pokémon back to the floor.  
>  “No…” Valerina watched her face lose. Her gaze shifted to the gym leader’s orange eyes. They suddenly didn’t feel ridiculous any more.  
>  “Come now. You have one more Pokémon left to battle with. Don’t be shy.” His voice was cold and vile. “You have to take your revenge. Let. Them. Out.”  
>  She returned the Emboar while her other hand shook. It was like she was being possessed by his will to let her Thawk out.  
>  When the fighting Pokémon was unleashed, it stood on guard, glancing back at its trainer. Cody started walking towards her. He had won the duel. This was merely a victory lap.  
>  “My Spirtomb needs to recharge. This is your chance. Strike them down with your Thawk. Avenge the Pokémon who was ravaged here before your very eyes. Show me your indomitable will.”  
>  Valerina dug her fingers into her palms. She couldn’t think of a single command to give. There was nothing in her Thawk’s arsenal that could damage the likes of Spiritomb. “Stop. Don’t-”  
>  “Too long.”  
>  The camera played close attention one the first tears starting to go down Valeria’s face as Spiritomb swatted Thawk around the room up and down like a child taking all their anger out on a doll. Between the psychic thrashings, the Thawk tried to struggle against its foe, but to no effect.  
>  Finally, the Spiritomb finished off its remaining stamina with a Dark Pulse, just to throw shade on the fighting type.  
>  The ref stood up, throwing up a black and green flag. “The Keystone King wins!”  
>  Cody didn’t let the adrenaline stop walking up to the camera projecting the battle to Aurolux City live. Maybe the rest of Zicra if anyone else cared enough to tune in. “This is the fate of all who attempt to steal my crown from me. I am the terror that has clawed its way up from Lower Zicra. I am the gatekeeper of lost souls. Gym Leader Yorra's absence fuels my will! I am the Keystone King, new leader of Aurolux Gym. Stay away, unless you want to suffer my wrath. No Pokémon can defeat me.”  
>  With his speech done, he turned his attention back to the challenger. Her loss was bringing her to a full breakdown. “No! No, no, no, no, no! I can’t lose! I can’t afford to lose here! It’s not fair! It’s not, it’s not, it’s not! Sawk! I’m sorry! I don’t deserve to live failing you.”  
>  Cody paused. This cycle of hate and self destruction was unbearable to witness. The moment this trainer left this gym, she was probably going to find somewhere quiet to end it all. Taking on the role of Gym Leader wasn’t just about guarding a gym badge. There was also the responsibility of looking after the people around you. Valerina suffered due to the gym. She should be able to move on from that suffering.  
>  Motioning to the camera crew, Cody made a slitting motion across his throat for them to cut to commercial. Once they singled to him that he wasn’t being filmed, he knelt down to Valerina. A hand under her chin, he tilted her up to look at the glowing eyes of his mask. “I can make the pain settle quicker. Easier for you.”  
>  “Why? Why do you care?”  
>  “Because this gym has enough blood on its hands. No need to add you further to our history. Now… sleep.” Cody dropped the voice as his Spirtomb hit here with a Hypnosis. Valernia’s eyes fluttered for a moment before they closed tight. Cody caught her before she could fall to the ground. He could feel the stiffness she carried in her. “Spiritomb. Shift through her dreams and devour every memory she has about Yorra. Devour every ambition she had and the pain she carried.”  
>  The dark spirit complied, getting to work on the girl. As Cody tried to stand up after setting Valerina down, he felt the battle fatigue hit him. “Oh. Ok. Easy.”  
>  The other trainers ran out to him, watching what he was doing. “Cody. What you’re doing is…”  
>  “What? Not ethical?”  
>  “Yeah.”  
>  Taking off the mask, Cody took a moment to catch his breath. “Well, it’s better than letting her walk out of her with the intention to either kill herself or someone else. Best she just forgets about all of us and moves on with her life.” Nearly forgetting himself, he pointed down at her hip. “Someone grab her Pokémon and have them get taken to the Pokémon centre to be healed. I don’t want any lasting effects to settle in on them.”  
>  The other trainers nodded amongst themselves. It was the best hand they could deal out. Jess ran past him, patting him on the shoulder. “You got it. And by the way? I think you did pretty good.”  
>  Cody nodded, letting out a sigh. “For day one, we all did good.”  
>  ~  
>  The after party to celebrate day one of reopening was going swimmingly. Trainers Pokémon that were more sociable hung out in the stadium while the trainers partied in the break room. Two drinks in, Cody stumbled onto a stage to speak into a microphone. “Hey, hey, hey everyone. Just a quick second?”  
>  Everyone turned to him, little giggles at how disheveled he looked with wet tousled hair that didn’t quite dry yet from the shower he had. Cody loosened his tie and smiled from ear to ear. “First off… you’re all fucking amazing.”  
>  “Fuck yeah!”, a shared cheer was let out.  
>  “First I want to give thanks to all our technicians. They helped keep us up to date with every challenger. They also made every stadium look sooooo kickass. I absolutely loved how the green fire was all spooky and menacing. Without your hard work, we would have never been able to pull it off.”  
>  The techs clinked glasses together as finger raised his glass to them.  
>  “And let’s not forget all of our trainers for pulling together in Yorra’s absence. You planted your feet and gave it your all to beat back every challenger.” Cody accidently spilled some beer when he pointed to Jess and Xanatos. “How was riding your mounts?”  
>  “Eh, took some handling, but not bad.” Even Xanatos couldn’t help but smile. “I thought it was going to be a goofy mess, what with having to wear a red robe that covered my vision, but the end result was…” He nodded his head side to side, getting the will to speak an actual nice comment out. “I liked it. It was a fun experience.”  
>  “Yeah!” Cody cheered him on. “You and Jess were absolutely majestic together!”  
>  “Come on Cody. I wasn’t that cool.” Xanatos rubbed the back of his hair modestly. “What about you? Mr. Terror of Lower Zicra?”  
>  “That’s just a little improve I threw in.”  
>  “Well gang, it was effective.” Greg walked in with a new case of drinks and a clipboard. “I got network reviews of the final match.”  
>  Cody jumped down from the stage, following everyone as they crowded around Greg.  
>  “Let’s see here. You’re popular with the Contest Hall. They want to cast you in a match with Didier Jagger.”  
>  Cody nearly dropped his drink at the sound of that. “Seriously?!”  
>  “Yeah.”  
>  Gaining composure, he shook his head. “Well, um, the Keystone King can’t leave Aurolux City, or he’ll lose his power.”  
>  “Pretty sure Mr. Jagger would crush you.” Jess squashed her can of fruity vodka, placing down on the table.  
>  “Well, yeah. Pretty sure my waist line would look like that can.” That got a laugh out of the Dark Trainers. “Nix that Greg. I don’t need that kind of spotlight on us. What other impressions have we made?”  
>  “Well, a flash poll showed that trainers between the ages of 10-15 are terrified of you. They really want Yorra back.”  
>  “Good. That will keep the youngbloods out.”  
>  “And your taunting to the challenger is trending. You’re being labeled as monstrous, brutal, and sadistic.”  
>  “Well, if that’s what they want to call me, they can go ahead. Just as long as it keeps them away from challenging us.” Cody set his drink down, taking a moment to savour the moment. “Speaking of, how is she?”  
>  “The Valerina kid? Well, she woke up at the Pokémon centre pretty dazed. I think she’ll be like that for a little while.”  
>  “But she has no recollection of what Yorra or I did to her?”  
>  Greg shook his head. “None.”  
>  That was good enough for Cody. “Good. Now, where were we? I want to see Kenny chug that two-litter carton!”  
>  ~  
>  The next morning, Cody was awoken to a phone ringing next to him. His Houndoom was sleeping next to him. Looking around it seemed to be the only one next to him. Tired, but luckily not hungover, he stretched out to reach his phone. “Hello? Cody Myres here.”  
>  “So, the Kingstone King, huh?”  
>  Cody felt a spark of adrenaline spike in him. “Yorra? What are you doing up so early? And they’re giving you a phone?”  
>  “I’m fine.” Cody could almost feel the smirk behind the voice. “So, you’ve been busy redecorating my gym.”  
>  “Well, boss. I just thought some theatrics could spice up the battles.”  
>  “That why you buy everyone fancy costumes?”  
>  Cody stood straight up on the edge of his bed. “Well, it worked. It seems to have successfully inspired fear. Polls show that youngsters at least want to stay away.”  
>  “I don’t recall needing a costume to do that.”  
>  “Well, some of us can’t rely solely on action.” Cody had to give it to Yorra. All she had to do was look at you and it could make most trainers quake in their boots. “Trust me when I say the money and your faith can rest easy.”  
>  “Well, your battle footage was good. Can’t say that I’d rely too much on Mega Evolution.”  
>  “I don’t want to make a habit of it. But with how my Sableye was being attacked, I had to set an example.”  
>  A silence fell for a moment, and Cody picked up a more neutral tone in Yorra’s voice. “Yeah. How is she?”  
>  “Valerina? She’s ok.”  
>  “You sure? She didn’t look ok.”  
>  “Trust me. I took care of it. She isn’t going to be a problem for you. Or to herself.”  
>  Cody wondered if Yorra was to inquire how or challenge him on that. Instead, he heard a sigh before she replied. “No, if you took care of it, then you took care of it.”  
>  “Good. Do you need anything?”  
>  “Yeah. To get off my back dude. I’m fine. But if any of you find yourselves in a pinch I’ll come right down.”  
>  Cody chuckled as he got up to get breakfast for his Pokémon. “Well, now it’s my turn to tell you that we’re fine. The best thing you can do is stay in that bed. We have everything covered here at the gym. Pick up a book series or something.”  
>  “I’ll think about it. Just keep up the good work Cody.”  
>  “Have a good day Yorra.”  
>  “You too. Just keep trainers from winning. No need to go to the victory road.”  
>  Hanging up, Cody kneeled down to pet Buddy as the hellhound pouted. “I know. You’re hungry. Let’s get you fed so we can prepare for another day ahead of us.”  
>  Pausing, Cody wondered what Yorra meant by Victory Road. Or why she wanted trainers to lose. Unable to keep his curiosity in check, Cody fed his dog before hopping on a computer. “Let’s take a look here. Lower Zicra Pokemon challenge. Enter.”  
>  With the click of a button Cody fell down a rabbit hole. Violence, death, and disappearances. He wasn’t sure how much of it was true, until he saw a familiar name. “Gage Collins.”  
>  Typing in the name, a report came up of a missing trainer who’s last photo was him happily holding up an Aurolux City Gym Badge. Deciding to look up other trainers that both defeated Yorra and journeyed to Lower Zicra, Cody filled his mind with dark revelations. Over the next hour he really started to clue in why Yorra was adamant he won all his encounters.  
>  ~  
>  It was about a week in for the Aurolux City Gym since they reopened. Despite trimming some of the fat, there were still plenty of challengers spread out through the day. Cody found himself exhausted with every battle he went through. It was to be partially expected, given that many trainers came to Aurolux to gain their final badges. What he didn’t expect was how brutal he had to throw himself into battle. In one fight, he had to pull his Metagross back from crushing a trainers’ frosty Ninetales six feet under.  
>  He didn’t want to admit it to anyone aloud, even himself, but the intensity of the job was getting to him. Sooner or later a trainer that was fully prepared was going to come along, and he didn’t know if he’d be able to beat them without giving into darker impulses or breaking his own body by attempting longer, or a second, Mega Evolution.  
>  At the start of the day, Cody was balancing league emails with student emails. Yet another reason to be exhausted. He had emails asking him when Yorra was coming back from other gym leaders, to challenges from the Jagger family. One he didn’t like was from one Jules Jagger, stating, “Villain of Aurolux Gym. While you are no member of Team Pixel, your vile actions must be brought to justice. I will show the people of Aurolux City that they don’t need to live in your shadow. As soon as I’m done a midterm I will come deliver your first defeat.”  
>  “Fan-fucking-tastic. Thanks for reminding me about my own papers.” Cody ran a hand down his face as he finished reading it. The last thing he wanted to do was have his ass kicked on live television by a Jagger.  
>  Greg walked in with a knock, breaking Cody out of his funk. “Hey. Hour break is starting.”  
>  “Hmm? Oh. Thanks Greg.” Cody closed his laptop, standing up to get out of costume. No way he was going to let anyone see the Keystone King grab a frap.  
>  Heading out, Jess finished putting on a sweater and shoe laces, quickly catching up to join him. He loved the way she let her light purple bangs fall loose in front of her face when she wanted to go casual. If one looked closely, they could see the orange roots at the top of her head. “Starbucks?”  
>  “You know it. Count you in?”  
>  “Love to.”  
>  Walking side by side, Cody yawned, letting his exhaustion show. Jess nudged him the arm, smirking at him. “What? Acting like an overlord is getting to you?”  
>  “Yeah. A little. I’m just glad we’re done this first week. I’m getting less sleep due to needing to keep up on assignments.”  
>  “Yeah, but isn’t your drama major the easier of the two?”  
>  “Well, juggling performances, writing scripts, and helping with management for both jobs full time is a little taxing.” Cody managed to sneak in a smile when he squeezed his fingers to emphasize little. “I have no idea how Yorra does it.”  
>  “Maybe you just need to get laid. Let off some steam.”  
>  “Fat chance for that to happen any time soon.”  
>  Walking out to the reception hall, Cody noticed a kid sitting down with Raichu sitting beside him. He spotted the temp and snickered. With a joyful yell, he wanted to get his attention. “Hey! Hey Cody!”  
>  “Christopher?” Cody stopped his stride completely. “What are you doing here?”  
>  The little kid patted his Raichu on the head, looking up at Cody with a vibrant life in his eyes. “I’m going to challenge the gym leader, that’s what I’m going to do.”  
>  His breath hitched, and Jess patted him on the back. “You know this kid?”  
>  “Christopher’s my cousin.” He turned back to the kid with some harshness in his eyes. “My cousin who gave up on his Pokémon journey, remember? Don’t you have school to go to?”  
>  The little kid frowned, pushing himself off the bench to stand tall against his older and bigger cousin. “I’m giving it another shot. I’m better now. And it's a stat day today.”  
>  “You couldn’t beat Yorra the first time. You couldn’t beat her now.” Cody was glad that the first challenge was when she was still new to the job.  
>  “No, but I’m sure I can beat this Keystone King.” Christopher opened up jacket to reveal a badge collection. “I just need to acquire the gym badge from Aurolux City, then I can challenge the Elite Four.”  
>  A deep, sickening knot filled Cody’s stomach. “The hell you can. Champion Xavion raised the starting age for defense match to the age of sixteen.”  
>  “But if I get my last badge, I can travel to Lower Zicra. I can face even stronger trainers and wild Pokémon. Then by the time I’m old enough I’ll be wicked strong.”  
>  Cody’s breath hitched, feeling his temper bubbling over. “You think that now that Yorra’s gone, you can just waltz in here and get an easier victory?”  
>  “She hasn’t fought fair since…”  
>  Cody watched his cousin falter on the name. This was what this entire conversation and reason for him being here was about after all. The older man leaned down and sneered. “Say it. Since Kent. You think Kent would want you to get an easy win? If you want the easy path you don’t deserve the badge.”  
>  Stamping his foot down, Christopher nearly exploded into shouting. “I deserve this win! I’m going to win for Kent! So how about you leave me alone if you want to be a jerk about it! I’ll kick your ass first, then I’ll beat the gym leader!”  
>  Hoping to change his mind, Cody got on his knee to get eye level with his cousin. “Christopher, Lower Zicra will eat you alive. If you really want the badge, wait till Yorra comes back. You can prove to everyone, but most importantly yourself, that you’re the best you can be by defeating her. Keep training yourself for that. But don’t go off to Lower Zicra. You can get killed down there. It’s not safe for a kid to go running off.”  
>  Cody thought he might have actually gotten through to him in the end, but the boy suddenly pushed him back. “Kent died in an accident. I don’t even know what happened to him because no one wants to talk about it with me! If I go to Lower Zicra I can find out what happened to my friend.”  
>  “Cody-”  
>  “Get out of my way. I have to strategize. You better get ready yourself. I assume you still have the spine to battle yourself.”  
>  Watching his cousin walk away was setting Cody up for a panic attack. Jess watched him speed walk out of the gym. “Cody?”  
>  Stepping outside, Cody kicked the garbage can on the street in release of rage. “Fuuuuuuuuck!”  
>  “Cody? What’s wrong?”  
>  He took a moment to take a couple deep breaths. He couldn’t let the panic overtake him. “Jess. I don’t know what to do.”  
>  “Your cousin, Christopher. He said he was a friend to Kent?” Saying the name of the late trainer was like a sad omen for any that lived in Aurolux City. It didn’t sit well with people about what happened to the rising star, even if most didn’t know the details of his grisly death.  
>  “Yeah. Also fancied himself a rival.”  
>  “Anyone can say they’re someone’s rival. Pretty sure Kent had a handful from what I heard.”  
>  Cody turned to her. He knew she didn’t even believe in herself in disproving that. “Christopher followed Kent around the region closely, up until they got back to Aurolux gym. He got ahead of Kent first in challenging Yorra. It didn’t go well for Chris. After that, he decided to battle against Kent one final time to see who was worthy to take on the last of the league. Chris always believed he could beat Kent, at least once. After Kent won, well… the rest is history. Chris became so devastated by the loss of Kent that he decided to stop training.” Cody sighed, shaking his head at how he missed the turnaround. “I must have missed the memo from Aunt Nichole that he found his spark again.”  
>  Jess was troubled by this revelation. “Do we have a chance of beating him in battle?”  
>  “Fairly? No. No, I don’t think so.”  
>  Cody looked out to the cloudy sky. And he got it. It really clicked for him why Yorra was the best of them. She dedicated herself as a gatekeeper to keep trainers, especially the young ones, from seeking bigger heights in Lower Zicra. “Christopher wasn’t there. He can’t see what will happen to him if he goes there.”  
>  They both just stood there, pondering on the spot. It was Jess who was the first to come up with an idea. A horrible, awful idea. “Then why don’t you make him see? As Gym Leader you have access to some pretty confidential files. Or one or two grizzly medical photos.”  
>  Cody turned to Jess. There was no joy with the idea she had. In her eyes was a darkness that innocence could not survive in. After a second, Cody clued in. His own eyes became filled with that same darkness at such a vile thought. His head slightly shook side to side. He needed to be cruel. He’d have to break his own cousin’s heart. So, his mouth responded differently from what his heart wanted to do. “You’re right.”  
>  Dropping his shoulder, Cody’s face hardened as he steeled his will for what he had to do next. “Jess. You are giving Chris the fight of his life. I want him to struggle. Buy all the time you can. I’m going to head to the morgue.”  
>  “Ok. Hurry alright?”  
>  “I will!”  
>  ~  
>  Cody ran across the city to acquire the weapon he needed to pull on his cousin. At first, city officials were unsure about digging up a grizzly past, but Cody wasn’t above pulling his weight as a gym leader and threatening their livelihoods if he didn’t get what he wanted. That was enough for them to comply and believe that he was the Keystone King they saw on T.V.  
>  Arriving back at the gym, he was nearly late. Chris was starting his double battle against Xanatos and Jess. Kid had a Mega Sceptile and a Blissey out and was ready to wall the competition. Getting to the change room, Greg was ready to berate him. “You’re late.”  
>  “I know.”  
>  “Kid’s really mopping the floor with us. What was I going to tell him if the gym leader was out on the longest coffee break known to man?”  
>  “I know Greg.”  
>  Cody put his costume on in a hurry, but still careful to not tear anything. With the armour getting placed on, he tucked a black portfolio carefully under a pocket inside his robe.  
>  “Kid has Jess and Xanatos on their last legs.”  
>  “Greg. I got it. You want to do me a favour? Cut the camera coverage.”  
>  Instead of heading out, the gym coordinator chuckled. “This isn’t a time for jokes.”  
>  Cody suddenly snatched Greg by the collar. “I’m not joking. This isn’t going to be a battle. And I don’t need a scandal being filmed live.”  
>  The S-Word put Greg on high alert. Catching his breath after Cody let him go, he eyed him with worry. “What the hell are you planning to do to the kid?”  
>  “Don’t worry. I’m not going to cripple his Pokémon.” Cody placed the new Keystone mask he built over the week at campus. It came attached to a protective helmet. “Just his will.”  
>  With a cape trailing behind him, the Dark Gym Leader strolled his way to the stadium arena. He saw his younger cousin opening the doors at the other side through the harmless green flames. Taking a deep breath, he shut off his heart and walked through the flames. If his cousin didn’t want to walk away from this path the easy way, then he’d just have to do things the hard way.  
>  “Christopher Owl. At last.”  
>  The young Chris paused in his stride, hands wondering to the pokeballs at his side. “You know my name?”  
>  “Of course. How could I not?” The dark figure tapped the Dusk Ball that contained his Spiritomb. “A friend of Kent is among us. And Kent is here with me.”  
>  Chris grabbed a pokeball, ready to get started. “You can’t scare me. I’m going to beat you and finally get my final badge.”  
>  “Of course you are.” The Keystone King walked towards Chris with a slow, purposeful walk. “You’ve prepared tremendously for this moment. How could I even stand a chance against your team?”  
>  Chris put his pokeball down with a confused frown. “You’re going to give me the badge without a battle?”  
>  “That’s right. But first, a token. Something to show you the world that I came from.” Pulling out a black folder, he knelt down in front of the trainer. The mask's orange, vile eyes bored into the gaze of the challenger. “This is your last chance to leave. Here lies the fate of Kent, and all who dive into the abyss of Zicra. You want the truth? Here is the chance to take it. Make your choice. But know it comes with a price.”  
>  As the Keystone King stood up, Chris took the envelope. Untying a green ribbon, he opened its contents. The boy didn’t know what he was going to expect. He wasn’t prepared to see photos of a battered, smashed, and devastated body of his friend, however. The photos detailed a red pulp with broken bones, but just enough of a face to be recognizable. “Kent?”  
>  Before slinking around him, Cody saw just enough of his cousin’s face to see that vibrant fire go out of his eyes, replaced by true horror. “Yes. Kent was never given a chance to even battle the Elite Four. His body was crushed by a herd of Mamoswine. Someone as talented and young as him, turned into a bloody smear. Is that what you want to happen to you boy?”  
>  “N-no. K-kent.”  
>  He placed his hands on the young boy’s shoulders. His hands squeezed tight as he heard the silent sobbing grow louder. “He’s not the only one. Others in Lower Zicra are often victims of people and Pokémon alike. And you want to know a little secret about them?” Tossing one crime scene photo one after the other onto the floor, the menace behind Chris made sure to make him look at every single one. “Nobody cares about them. They’re just numbers at this point. Damned souls left to fester in Zicra. And that’s exactly what will become of you when you travel down there.”  
>  Somewhere in all this Cody and his role as Keystone King clicked perfectly together. Every word he spoke came out far too naturally. He turned Chris to look up at the vile eyes of the mask once again. “You wanted the easy path. So you’ll get an easy death. Take it.”  
>  Chris watched in horror as the Keystone King attempted to forcibly put a Dark Badge in his hand. The child pulled away best he could as the leader gripped his arm. “You think Kent had a glorious end? He didn’t. He died for absolutely nothing. His friends and family miss him dearly. You want them to feel your loss too?”  
>  “Please- stop!”  
>  “No. I won’t stop.” The sound of a Dusk Ball went off, and Chris was suddenly face to face with a Spirtomb and the Keystone King standing above him with looming dread. “In fact, if you’re so desperate to follow Kent’s footsteps, why don’t I let you see him now?”  
>  Chris screamed through sobbing as his feet backed away from the Dark Gym Leader and his monster. “Flee now child. Or die.”  
>  The Spiritomb started to spread a Night Shade around Chris, with nightmarish images spinning around him. With grated teeth, the young boy shouted out a response that broke the Keystone King’s act apart. “F-fuck you Cody!” With that revelation he always knew who was behind the mask, the young trainer ran away.  
>  The shadows followed Chris all the way to the exit doors as he ran through them. The Keystone King expected him to have run all the way home. Besides returning Spirtomb to their Dusk Ball with a slight gesture, the leader simply stood there.  
>  Others walked onto the stage; a cold shock having settled on them from Cody just did. Kenny turned away when he leaned down to pick up the photos. “Holy- I don’t even- dear god.”  
>  Xanatos finished gathering the photos for Kenny, grimacing. Yet, his voice was soft. “That was family to you, right? No reason for a thirteen-year-old to be traveling the streets and wilds of a place like Lower Zicra. You did what you had to. No one is going to judge you Cody.”  
>  Cody’s mind was racing and pulling in all different directions. His cousin wasn’t supposed to know who was behind the mask. Was it that easy for him to figure out? Did he just want to play along with the gym leader’s act of pretend and have a battle with family? Even though the turmoil was building within, Cody’s voice was still clear and in character. “Yeah.”  
>  Putting his arms at his hips he continued to look out at the door Chris fled through. His cousin might as well as left behind their relationship.  
>  Sensing some distress, Jess patted Cody on the back. “You want us to get ready for any other challengers for today?”  
>  “Challengers?” Finally, Cody dropped the act. “No. No more challenges for the day. Just focus on training with one another. We can have drinks today.”  
>  The other trainers glanced at one another. Was his voice shaking? Jess tried to take his hand, only for him to pull away. “Cody? You going to be alright?”  
>  “Me? Yeah. Fine. Perfect. That’s me. Fucking beautiful today.”  
>  As Jess reached up to his mask, wanting to see his face, Cody turned away. walking to the gym’s private office. “Excuse me everyone. I’ll be in my office.”  
>  The others didn’t feel great knowing Cody probably wasn’t. Their money was right on the nose, as the moment Cody closed the door behind, he broke down. “Oh god. Oh god. Oh god. Oh god. Shit! How the fuck did he know?! He wasn’t supposed to know it was me!”  
>  Clawing at his mask, he struggled with the straps that glued it to his head. Tears were streaking his face as his lungs gasped desperately for fresh air. Christopher’s face haunted him. It dawned on him how much a piece of shit he was. What kind of man broke the innocence of a child?  
>  It also dawned on Cody how Christopher must have known it was him. His cousin looked forward to his plays growing up. The elder trainer always loved costumed work. Even working as a regular for Aurolux he loved dressing up and trying to intimidate or make league challengers laugh at his get up as a ninja. Cody was stupid to think that Christopher wouldn’t see through this disguise because of some special effects and a voice amplifier.  
>  All the determination in his cousin’s eyes, replaced with despair because of his malice. He hurt his cousin in the worst way, just so he wouldn’t possibly end up dead? Instead of crippling Pokémon he decided to cripple a trainer. His own family. It was simply the other end of extremes compared to what Yorra did at her worst. “I went too far.”  
>  For the next hour, knocks came at his door. No one had a key to open the door, and no one had any luck getting through to him. It all sounded like a blur of sound as he laid back on the couch, looking straight as the piss yellow roof tiles. Why the hell did Yorra like her yellows?  
>  Speak of the devil, one voice that didn’t make sense being here slid through. “Cody?”  
>  The man blinked a few times, looking down at his right. A glowing cell phone turned to speaker mode was sitting in the middle of the phone. “Hey, you there?”  
>  “… What do you want Yorra?”  
>  “You want to just talk to me buddy?”  
>  Cody looked at the phone with a long stare. It looked so far away, yet her voice was pulling him to it. He barely even noticed that he got off the couch to pick it out. He paused as he held the phone out at arms length. “How do you do it Yorra? How do you cope with the responsibility?”  
>  “What do you mean Cody?”  
>  His voice was calm and surprisingly steady to even himself. It was the lack of energy and charm in it that was evident of him being off. “Aurolux City has prided itself on being one of the tougher gym challenges. The final gate before trainers feel they can get even greater thrills down in the lower levels of Zicra. I know it was always dangerous down there, but I figured trainers could handle it. I thought that when I first started working here, it would be competing in a fun hobby I loved. That Pokémon battles would always just stay that. Fun.  
>  ‘But then Zicra started to change as I grew up. It became more violent. Pokemon became more dangerous, which left people viler to cope, and vise versa and it all just melted together in a pot of hostility. When did Zicra become so heavily invested in the survival of the fittest and might makes right? Was it always like this? Have I been blind this whole time?” Cody wiped his dry eyes, taking a moment to breath. “I didn’t understand before why you changed so radically. How you turned yourself into a demon. But what you said, about not wanting to let anyone win against me, I think I’m starting to get it.  
>  ‘You loved Kent as a brother. And I know Zephiel’s death shook you. Even though I knew them, I never really knew them, you know? I couldn’t understand how their deaths could transform someone so radically. Then I thought about that responsibility you asked of me, to not lose. It wasn’t about upholding any records or making the gym look good. It’s to save the lives of others. No matter the cost, no matter how others view you. I felt it when I fought against Valerina. She held so much hate in her heart; enough that it was going to end in the death of someone if I didn’t snuff it out. I-I erased her memories Yorra. I did it because I didn’t want our mistake to fuck up her life forever. She deserved better.”  
>  “Our mistake?” There was a genuine surprise over the phone from Yorra, but Cody continued on without giving pause.  
>  “If I had always given a damn in my battling from the start, if I didn’t treat it as a fun or thrilling hobby, then I wouldn’t have served her up to the demon that was lurking in you at the time. I’m just as equal to blame for every trainer that you hurt, because I wasn’t good enough to defeat them myself. After I beat her, I thought it would get easier. I thought putting down a grudge would be the highlight of temping for you, and I could go back to wearing my super-villain costume and enjoy battling again. Only that never happened.  
>  ‘Instead, every trainer that made it to me battled like I was the final piece in their conquest to conquer Upper Zicra and rise to a new plateau. Every single battle has pushed me to my limits. I can feel it changing me. Over this week I’ve worked my ass off keeping this gym running and trying to make it fun for everyone here, but I can’t escape the promise I made hanging over me. I’m so terrified of losing and letting someone lose their life down the road that I keep dancing over the abyss of breaking my character.”  
>  “Of the Keystone King?”  
>  “Of Cody Myres.” He paused, squeezing the phone tight and hearing the scratches of his Houndoom’s paws on the other side of the door. “I push myself harder in battle, that I feel justified in bending the rules. I’ve had to pull myself back twice from going beyond just knocking my opponents Pokémon out. It’s straining. I didn’t want to follow the same mistakes you did and be another demon of Aurolux Gym. I thought I could handle it for much longer than I did, but today happened. I broke someone.”  
>  “Who? Tell me Cody.”  
>  “My little cousin. Little hardworking Christopher Owl. Never a prodigy but he had a love for the Pokémon world. He loved his friendship with Kent and wanted to follow in his footsteps. Even though he never won a battle against him, he never stopped trying. Nothing could break his-” Cody eyes suddenly burned with tears again. He couldn’t hide his voice breaking. “He didn’t know what to do when Kent died. A good kid with no motivation to finish the league challenge. Yet his spirit for Pokémon didn’t go out completely. Our family kept him in the dark about the full extent of what happened to Kent. Who in their right mind was going to be the one that told him his close friend got fucking trampled to pieces? I thought he’d do something else, travel elsewhere. Anything but be inspired to carry on when his torch was good and bright.  
>  ‘I’m the one who destroyed that. I can’t lie to you Yorra. Those terrible things you did to trainers… I thought you were just out of your mind at the time. But when I thought of my own cousin turning up dead just like Kent, I- I couldn’t let him win. I didn’t want him to fall off the mountain top, so I did whatever I thought would be necessary to have him stop climbing. I understand, I think. At our most worried and lowest we believed them being crippled was better than dead. But I took it too far. I should have known he’d seen through my act. Mask was fucking useless.” Cody breathed slowly again, careful to not break voice. “How do you cope with that? How have you moved on from the guilt?”  
>  Yorra took a moment to take everything in. “When I find out how to move on from guilt, I’ll tell you. Come on Cody, you really think I’m the person to tell you that it's going to get easier? I can give you ways to cope, I can tell you to ground your feet and just let the sea of anguish pass you by. But the only thing that’s really going to help is time. It’s a terrible deal you’ve been given, but I believe you did the best you could. What matters is the intention. You didn’t want to see your cousin dead. You wanted to give him the chance to live his life. Even if he comes to hate you. And better him being terrified of battling than not having the Pokémon to battle with. I think that’s legions better than what I did.”  
>  “I don’t feel like it is.”  
>  “Alright. How about this? You fucked up the kid. For maybe a month, most. No one had to be physically hurt. You spend the time talking to him about Kent. He knows what really happened to him. You can take his pieces and you can put them back together. You’re family again and no ones sad. And the best part is you did it in that costume of yours, right? Cody Myers isn’t the symbol of fear and despair that hurt a fledgling teenager.”  
>  “But he knows it's me? What the hell does that help?”  
>  “He didn’t look into your actual eyes when you hurt him. The face of Cody Myers still has a chance to make things up. So, chin up about that? Go have a drink or do something fun tonight?”  
>  Cody slowly nodded along. “Because alcohol sounds like the healthiest solution right now.”  
>  “Cody. Do you need to step down? Take a break? I’m sure we can figure something out to help you out. Hell, I can even come back.”  
>  “Come back? Are you- what the fuck do you mean ‘come back’ Yorra?”  
>  “Hey. I’m trying to help you out.”  
>  “No! I’m trying to help YOU out! You were the one hospitalized. My bad day doesn’t mean I can’t keep going on. I’m not going to quit on you or the rest of the team.”  
>  “What are you saying? You just needed a moment to cry, big guy?”  
>  “Yeah!? Maybe?! It’s been a stressful couple of weeks reorganizing the gym while your ass has been taking it easy. Not to mention all of the battling; I think I might grow white hairs soon, how do you like the sound of that?!”  
>  Cody’s hurt and anger was suddenly stifled by a laugh on the other side of the line. “Look at that. You already sound better. Angers better than sadness.”  
>  He couldn’t help but chuckle now. “I feel like strangling you sometimes.”  
>  “That’s how I got here in the first place. Maybe try something else.”  
>  Both of them snickered, more Cody, at the dark humour.  
>  “I can take a stab at it.”  
>  He got an annoyed groan from her that was sweet to the ears. “Awful.”  
>  His head space no longer being pushed into a tar of depression, he unlocked the door to his office and allowed Buddy to run in. The Houndoom immediately jumped him, wanting him to feel ok with his presence. “Um, thanks for the call. Just don’t let anyone know how much the pressure got to me?”  
>  “Ha, will do.”  
>  “Thanks, Yorra. You’re a great boss and this gym is lucky to have you.”  
>  “We’re lucky to have you too man.”  
>  “Alright, I-”  
>  Sirens interrupted their conversation. The loud sharp noise was a standard, foreboding sound that echoed throughout all of Aurolux City. It signalled a large-scale attack on its people, be it by a large amount of threatening Pokémon, Ultra Beasts, or possible foreign invaders.  
>  With Yorra still on the phone, Cody turned the small office T.V on, quickly turning to find an emergency broadcast.  
>  “Breaking News! Just outside the city alongside Route 69, there is confirmed destruction of warring Ultra Beasts and Wild Pokémon. A traveling cyclist has already been severely injured in the ensuing conflict in this invasion. We advise people to evacuate to the Western and Southern sections of the city until such a time that the danger changes direction.”  
>  Cody and Yorra, both focused on the news, respectively let out one shared and unified response. “Shit.”  
>  ~  
>  The news on the T.V shifted to a on the scene reporter. “This is Dom Dimadom reporting on the scene. It’s mayhem out here! It’s a war of wild beasts. There isn’t going to be an end to this conflict until one side has had its full of blood and carnage. But that’s just another day in Zicra. I can only hope this doesn’t spread out to become the last day for Aurolux City.” As a beam brought a small amount of rubble down on his head, he started running off. “Back to you!”  
>  Cody’s own problems shifted as quickly as the change of air. Remembering he had Yorra on the other line, he put his phone back to his ear. “I’ve got to go.”  
>  “I’ll come too.”  
>  Did she not think he had what it took to defend the city? Cody felt like he connected closer with his boss over the phone. He’d be damned though if he was going to let her takeover now. “In your condition? Absolutely not.”  
>  “Cody-”  
>  “Don’t you Cody me. You trusted me to be Gym Leader.”  
>  “Defending the city wasn’t what I had in mind!”  
>  Cody shrugged, already grabbing his suit. “Hey, I’m an actor. I’m great at improvising. Now be a good girl and stay safe. We got this.”  
>  Before Yorra could get a defiant word in, Cody hung up the phone. With one last look at the evacuation order on T.V, he grabbed his mask, slipping it back on.  
>  The inside of the gym was scrambling to get into outdoor jackets and protective shin guards. As Jess was finishing up, she saw Cody come out in full costume. Even as supportive of him as she was, she herself was baffled at the sight. “A costume. Now? With a plastic mask?”  
>  “The helmet it's attached to is real metal.” Cody gave his head a good ol’ tap on the head to demonstrate. “I built this costume to protect myself from damage in battle. If we have to wrangle some wild beasts, I rather have the helmet on and not need it, then-”  
>  “Need it and not have it. Got you.” Jess interrupted, giving him another signature pat on the back. “You still look like a nerd.”  
>  Xanatos ran past them, taking a quick glance to make sure he had all his pokeballs. “I hope you got all your emotions back in check Cody. Cause we got to go now!”  
>  Cody nodded, ready to fulfil his duty. If he could break a boy’s heart to save him in the long run, he’d be more than willing to have himself broken in defending the city. Perhaps that would be fair.  
>  ~  
>  Trainers rode on Pokémon mounts or bikes to reach Route 69 as quickly as they could. Brave, regular trainers were waiting by the city's edge, wondering if they’d be pulled into battle. It was only a few blocks length away that the battle between the wild Pokémon was raging.  
>  Two Buzzwole were razing hell on anything they came across. This led to a stir of highly violent confrontations. In the river bed nearby, Gyarados were blasting anyone that got too close. One had itself K.O by a swift focus punch from a Buzzwole. Before the invader could do more life-threatening damage to it, two more Gyarados rose from the water to fire a combined Hydro Pump at the nasty bug. This only made both parties more enraged.  
>  A conservation park of revived fossilized Pokémon had been broken open. A herd of Bastiodon protecting little Shieldon were becoming restless. Aerodactyl and Archeops were swooping down to harass people on the road, and Pokémon such as Rampardos and Tyrantrum were battling with one another and any that tried to force them back into the enclosure. Pokémon Rangers that were on the scene were struggling to wrangle all of the wild dinosaurs back to safety.  
>  The worst development though came just as Cody was about to make his first order. Out from the mountain range hugging Aurolux City, a mechanical tune of beeps and wiggles ran out across the chaos. A resident and guardian of the mountain, one Registeel stepped out into the sun. Although it was drawn by the unnatural aura of the Ultra Beasts, it also was annoyed by all the noise of battling and strife below. Putting its hands together, it charged up a Zap Cannon. Finally, a massive blast of electricity flew across the route, glassing one of the Buzzwole, but also critically injuring the Gyarados.  
>  Cody patted his Metagross steadily. This would get ugly if he didn’t coordinate everyone perfectly. Other trainers besides the Dark Gym had their eyes on him now. He wasn’t sure if they were surprised that the costumed man was out on the field, or if they were looking for orders. Cody decided to take action on the latter.  
>  “Trainers of Aurolux City! Stand firm! Stand together! Outsiders of the gym, set up defences along the road. Nothing gets in. If any of you have Pokémon with healing properties, use them to assist both trainers and the wild Pokémon on death's door. Dark members of Aurolux Gym…” Cody took a quick moment to spot out the Ultra Beasts locations. One Buzzwole was heading towards the rangers. “Assist the Pokémon Rangers. We must recapture and heard back the escapees, lest they become fossils again.”  
>  From his Dusk Ball, Cody let out his Scizor, pointing out the Registeel zapping at both flying Pokemon and a new threat that slunk its way around the mountain side like a foreboding shadow. If Cody remembered his studies correctly, that floaty creature was called a Nihilego. “Xanatos. Take Metagross and Scizor to the mountain side. Redirect Registeel’s fire and rage at the Ultra Beasts.”  
>  Patting his Metagross, Cody took a breath to not get overwhelmed with thinking when he talked with him. Under the right circumstances, psychic Pokémon could communicate with their trainers rather fluently. If one wasn’t careful, however, it could lead to quite the headache. “Hey HK. Does speaking steel translate to Titan? We want Registeel to be a friend if we can help it.”  
>  “Affirmative. I’ll see what I can do.”  
>  “Well if you can’t just Meteor Mash him or something.”  
>  Xanatos traded places with Cody on top of Metagross, and both steel Pokemon went off towards the Titan and the invader.  
>  If they could make the Ultra Beasts fear for their lives, they were prone to retreating back from where they came from. “Jess. Go defeat the Ultra Beast at the river. I will deal with the overweight bug near the rangers.”  
>  Taking out Sharpedo, Cody pointed at Jess. “Bruce. Go with Jess. Listen to her, she’ll tell you who to attack.”  
>  “Shar?” The Sharpedo narrowed its eyes, looking unsure of leaving Cody’s side.  
>  Dropping his act for a moment, he whispered to his shark, giving him a quick belly rub. “I can get you a nice juicy Seaking after.”  
>  “Shar!” The promise of a meaty dinner over poke blocks satisfied Bruce enough to follow Jess.  
>  With dividing up the team all done, Cody summoned his Houndoom to the field. The hellhound appeared onto the road with a running start, keeping up with his trainer. Just as a Buzzwole was ready to throw its fist down on an injured trainer, Cody commanded Buddy to attack. The dark dog’s mouth burned with flames as it sunk its fangs into the bug’s bicep. A loud buzz of pain ran out as the Buzzwole shook its arm back and forth to throw the Houndoom off. The hellhound relented, landing gracefully on all fours.  
>  Helping the ranger up, Cody turned his full attention to the Ultra Beast. “Go. Your companions need you. This one is mine.” The ranger complied, running off rather quickly. With his Houndoom growling next to him, Cody raised a metal finger outwards. “Houndoom! Flamethrower!”  
>  Through the fires and the flames, the Buzzwole carried on. With a swift flurry of punches, it laid a beating on the Houndoom. This close to the action, Zicra trainers were no strangers to getting in the fight themselves if it was a battle for their lives. The Buzzwole went to throw a Dynamic Punch at Cody, but the trainer bent his knees and dropped low. Grabbing a rod at his side, Cody pressed a switch. Little blades came out the sides to give the structure of a mace. Thrusting it forward, he gave the Ultra Beast a surprising shock and light stabbing. “Houndoom! Flame Charge.”  
>  Jumping off Cody’s back as he bent low, Buddy’s whole body became a battering ram of fire as they threw themselves at the Buzzwole, knocking them backwards. With Cody and Buddy having one another’s backs, they were pushing the Ultra Beast on the backend.  
>  Down at the river, Jess instructed Bruce the Sharpedo to head into the water. Now in its natural element, it sped towards the second Buzzwole. Throwing out her own Drapion, the scorpion scuttled on the shore towards the swollen mosquito as it held a Gyarados in its hands by the neck. The Ultra Beast braced itself for a head on collision with the Drapion. Instead, the Shapedo burst forth from the river to sink its jaws into the monster’s neck.  
>  The Buzzwole fell backwards into the shallow water, thrashing about with the Sharpedo. Wanting that fish to go anywhere else, the bug kept punching the snout and eyes, hoping to override the shark’s sense with pain. Sharpedo, lacking a large frame, or the arms or legs to really stop its prey from striking back, eventually gave into the onslaught. With its teeth no longer sunk in, the shark couldn’t stop the Ultra Beast from hoisting it over its head.  
>  Pissed and hungry, the Buzzwole thrust its drill into the gills of the shark, piercing it inch by inch. As much as the Sharpedo thrashed about, the Ultra Beast had a perfect grip. Nothing was going to stop it from shredding it from the inside out.  
>  Nothing save a Drapion sneaking up from behind. It seemed the Ultra Beast had dropped the ball on its attention span. “Drapion! Massage it.”  
>  Following Jess’ command, the scorpion stabbed all six of its claw tips into the spine of the Buzzwole. With a sinking twist, major nerve endings were snapped as easily as a twig. The Ultra Beast let out a terrible cry that was alien to the human ear. Dropping the Sharpedo, the shark took a breath under the river to recover its barring. Drapion unhooked its claws and squired back to its trainer, knowing what was coming next.  
>  “Sharpedo, use Hyrdo Pump!”  
>  Bruce poked his head out from the water, opened its mouth wide, and let out a torrent of water that sent the Buzzwole flying away inland. Panting, the shark swam slowly towards Jess. The woman winced seeing the blood staining the water. “Hold still now. This spray might hurt, but this way you get to live and Cody won’t kill me.”  
>  Above her head, a boulder flew over her head. It landed in the river, splashing her completely with water. “Fucking hell!”  
>  Her attention immediately went to the mountain side where Xanatos was confronting the Registeel.  
>  The titan was hurling rocks at the flying dinosaurs and the Nihilego indiscriminately. “BeepBeepBeepBeepBeepBoopBoopBoopBoopBoop.”  
>  Xantaos let out his Shiftry and Starmie, huddling quickly behind a boulder with Metagross and Scizor. “Locke. I want you to go with Scizor and bring that freaky jellyfish down to earth. Cut it apart, torment it. I want that Registeel to see we’re all together on this. Starmie, I want you to intercept every attack the Titan throws at anything that’s not the Ultra Beast. Protect them. Metagross, you get the Registeel’s attention. You’re the only one here smart enough to communicate properly with it. If we can get it on our side, then the battle will be over before it begins.”  
>  All the Pokemon gave Xanatos a nod. Taking a quick breath, the trainer wondered if he’d either be joining Yorra in the hospital. Or just earning a place in a morgue. “Go!”  
>  Bursting from the cover of the boulder, Xanatos and all the Pokémon ran out to accomplish their respective tasks. Standing somewhere in the middle, Xanatos was constantly on the move. Being a field commander of so many tasks would be difficult, but, as a Zicran, he knew it was in his blood to rise to such challenges.  
>  “Scizor, Bullet Punch! Locke! Leaf Blade!”  
>  The Nihilego, who had been carefully taking its time to weave around the Registeel’s attacks, as well as figuring out the perfect moment to ensnare it under its control, was taken aback by the swift ambush. Scizor made indents in its domed head, while Shiftry nearly cut one of its tentacles off with the deep slashes it made.  
>  The Ultra Beast let out a frustrated cry at the sheer audacity anything else would have the gall to strike it. Slapping its tentacles against the mountain side in a tantrum, it wrapped itself around a few boulders and tried to evolve its attackers into a smear. Hurling them, it watched as the Scizor and Shiftry nimbly avoided the rocks. Scanning the area, it tried to find their trainer…  
>  Boulders lifted off the ground around Registeel with a kinetic force as it was ready to strike an Aerodactyl out of the sky. Its eyes blinked in an odd order as it locked onto the dinosaur. Throwing the rocks at a shocking speed, it would have sent the poor reptile back down onto the earth, had it not been for Starmie intercepting the rocks.  
>  Throwing up a barrier, the star fish landed on the ground, ready to tango with the titan. Xanatos watched carefully as the Titan stomped forward. “Starmie! Be careful!”  
>  Registeel felt that these were just more and more pests lining up for a beating. With a sudden dash it threw itself at the Starmie, heavily slamming the full force of its body into the small Pokémon’s jewel centre. The Starmie was thrown back into an opposing boulder by the result. With a crack in the middle, it stumbled forward two steps before succumbing to its injuries and falling over.  
>  “Not good.” Xantaos had Starmie return to their pokeball as he watched the Titan of Steel walk towards him. “Any time now Metagross!”  
>  As Registeel was ready to slap Xanatos all the way back to Aurolux City, Metagross sucker punched the Titan with a Meteor Mash from behind. No physical marks could be made against Registeel, and it wouldn’t be injured too badly due to the type resistance, but it was enough to send it teetering a few steps backwards from Xanatos. More than enough time for the trainer to get out of striking range.  
>  Metagross grounded itself as Registeel turned to it, a glow forming in the Titan’s hands. Not flinching in the face of destruction, Metagross opened its mind open up to Registeel. It sent calculations, logic, emotion, and compassion for the Titan of Steel to process, all in a plea to turn its wild wrath on the true enemy. All while it did this, the energy in the Titan’s hand never flickered out.  
>  Nihilego was finding itself in a pinch. Every time that it was able to ensnare one Shiftry or Scizor in its grasp, the other would come to the aid of their partner before any lasting damage could be inflicted. Despite its frustrations, its patience paid off when it spotted a human duck behind a mound of rocks to avoid the Titan. Thinking fast, the Ultra Beast threw a thick layer of poison into the air as Shiftry and Scizor flew in the strike it once more.  
>  With both Pokémon blinded, it grasped them both with their tentacles. Not wanting to have a long struggle, Nihilego smashed them together like dolls to stun them, before throwing them to the ground. Flying towards their trainer, the Ultra Beast grasped a tentacle around Xanatos’ waist.  
>  The chaos of battle on multiple fronts caught up with Xanatos, and he paid the price for his lack of diligence. The Nihilego adjusted itself over him, slowly descending. All the trainer could do was throw his arms up to try and stop the creature. “G-get off me!”  
>  His worries were put to rest by a piercing beam of light that tore into the Nihilego. Xanatos was thrown against the mountain, his arm shattering against a sharp rock. As his body tumbled away and he felt the worst pain of his life, adrenaline swept through him. Stumbling to his feet and away from the Ultra Beast, he noticed through a now blood drenched vision the Registeel lowering its hands from launching a Hyper Beam. Carefully bracing himself against a rock, he focused his attention on the Ultra Beast. To him this went from a warzone to a battle. A winnable battle.  
>  As Scizor and both of Cody’s Pokémon joined his side, his took a moment to wipe the bloody gash on his forehead. “Sick it.”  
>  Back down on the route, Cody was ready to finish off the Buzzwole. The Ultra Beast had landed on its back, completely winded by combat with burn marks all over its body. “You Ultra Beasts should never dueled with Keystone King. Prepare for Oblivion.”  
>  All Cody had to wait for now was the Buzzwole to flee back to its dimension. Instead, the muscular bug in a vague direction at something behind the trainer. He was barely able to turn his head back when a heavy force impacted the right side of his helmet. He was sent rolling down the road, scraps ripping parts of his costume apart. Within quick succession his Houndoom was kicked his way too.  
>  On his hands and knees while recovering from a sensation close to rug burn, Cody looked up at what could be mistaken as an angel at first. Walking down the road like a cat walk was an insect with the golden frame of a maiden. This Pheromosa gave a quick glance at the Buzzwole, still writhing on the ground in agony. Turning its attention on Cody, it almost seemed like it smiled. In the second before it kicked Cody again, he recognized it as an expression of malice. The trainer felt something pop in his stomach as he flew onto his back.  
>  Buddy howled at the newest Ultra Beast to enter the battlefield. Stepping over Cody to protect him, the dog patted Cody three times with his tail. The trainer knew his dog wanted to turn on the Mega Evolution. Unfortunately, his head was still ringing from the kick. He completely lacked the head space to give that kind of order. “Buddy, get out of here.”  
>  The Pheromosa skipped forward, and Buddy lunged at her to meet it head on. Launching a flamethrower at the Ultra Beast, the Houndoom redirected the path of the Pheromosa, but nothing more. Running around the fire so as to not get burnt, the angelic bug danced left and right until it was right upon the Houndoom. With its arms raised above its head like a ballerina, it brought its foot down on the hellhound’s neck. Spinning around it kicked it an additional two more times until the dog was whimpering in numbing pain.  
>  Gotten enough wind back in him, Cody ran forward with his electric rod, lunging with fury at the Ultra Beast. “Get off my dog!”  
>  A few hairs stood up on the beautiful Pokémon as it was shocked. It didn’t even hear the trainer coming. Quickly though, it retaliated with another kick, sending the man flying to the ground without his rod.  
>  Cody tried to claw at his poke ball belt, desperate to unleash his Spirtomb. He was as good as useless fighting an Ultra Beast himself, and if Buddy didn’t get back up they’d be dead meat. Just as he was about to grab it, the Pheromosa brought its ‘heel’ down on his hand. The sheer force of its stomping power completely shattered his left hand, while penetrating a hole through the palm. Cody let out a scream as the monster ground its heel in. “FUCK YOU!!!”  
>  Buddy tried to stand up to protect his friend, but it staggered, falling back to the ground with ragged breathing. The Pheromosa lifted its leg above Cody’s chest, bringing it down once more, this time on his chest. The incredible power it possessed allowed it to penetrate the plating the trainer wore. It only reached as far as the rib cage this time, but it was critical injury to the man. Cody spat up blood as he reached up to weakly pull the foot out.  
>  The Pheromosa was disgusted that this thing would lay a hand on it. The blood on its pristine form was awful enough, but at least that was a necessary evil. Pulling out of his chest, it gently laid a heel on Cody’s neck. The trainer strained, still trying to fight back. Adrenaline was a powerful drug, but with such a mighty force holding him down, he could do nothing as the Ultra Beast started to exert pressure. From what he could make out behind the plastic visor of his Keystone helmet, the others were still too busy with their own battles. Maybe this is what he deserved for trying to stand above his station. “What… a life…”  
>  Cody’s vision turned red. This was the end.  
>  “Buttons! Darkest Lariat!”  
>  With a proud, mighty roar, an Incineroar came flying in. A vortex of doom and justice, this fearsome feline spun its way into the Pheromosa, slashing it away from Cody and sending it into a quick retreat to recover.  
>  After a few breaths, Cody looked up to the sight of a white and black haired trainer. With yellow diamonds going down both her arms with a green zig-zag around her waist, she was instantly recognizable. “Yorra?”  
>  “Yeah. Had to really push my way past hospital staff to get here.”  
>  “You’re… crazy.”  
>  The Pheromosa was waiting for them to make the next move. Who knew how long its patience would last for though. Looking down at Cody, Yorra gave him a concerned frown. “You look bad. Can you still fight?”  
>  Cody closed his eyes and nodded after another breath. “I can. But can we win?”  
>  Yorra’s concern turned to resolve on her face. “Hey. Our courage will pull us through. Right?”  
>  A small chuckle escaped Cody’s lips as he staggered up to his feet. “Right.”  
>  Houndoom limped its way to Cody’s side, still willing to fight. Taking a max potion out, he sprayed his dog and little bit on his chest wound. It stung with the force of a Beedrill, but that little bit of medicine and adrenaline spiking through him helped him stay on his feet.  
>  Next to the Pheromosa, the injured Buzzwole was rising back up to protect its partner and seek revenge. The Ultra Beasts were ready for an attack, with Buzzwole flexing its muscles as a bold threat against the humans.  
>  Yorra took a battle stance, with Buttons posing with her. “Show me what my temp can do Cody.”  
>  With his left hand over his chest wound, Cody eerily raised his Dusk Ball to his right side, letting Spritomb out. The dark spirits aura opened up behind the Dark Trainers as Buttons and Buddy roared out at the Ultra Beasts. Letting himself fall into character one more time, the Keystone King pointed a bloody hand at his foes. “Take them down.”  
>  The Buzzwole ran ahead, wanting to confront Buttons, but Cody wasn’t going to let a contest of strength be drawn out. Even injured, Ultra Beasts were absolute freaks in terms of strength. “Spirtomb, put the big one to sleep!”  
>  Swirling out a hypnosis, the ghost landed its attack. The Buzzwole run turned into a jog, a short walk, then it crashed to the floor face first with exhaustion. The Pheromosa, still waiting for an opening, decided to start its attack early.  
>  Still feeling the agony it inflicted on him, Cody snapped his fingers at his Houndoom. “Buddy! Fire Spin! Keep that disgusting cockroach out!”  
>  The Pheromosa actually stopped its stride, the insult faltering it. The hellhound was quick to shoot a wall of fire between the group and the Ultra Beast, growling at it to make a move. Yorra pointed at the sleeping Buzzwole, giving her cat the go ahead. “Spirtomb gave us a gift, Buttons. Go open it up.”  
>  The Incineroar produced its claws as its entire palm caught on fire. With a tremendous roar it delivered a strike that detonated the buff Ultra Beast into flames. The bug flew backwards, crashing on its back and twitching in a puff of smoke. There was no way it was getting back again.  
>  The Pheromosa felt its rage break. With unnatural levels of speed, it ran around the battlefield, encircling the trainers and their Pokémon. It would make quick moments to attack, throwing kicks at Incineroar or Houndoom. With some malice, it even kicked up a stone that struck Yorra in the kneecap. “What a bitch.”  
>  “Yorra. How good is Button’s with his flamethrower?”  
>  “Better than your dog. Why?”  
>  Cody was glad Yorra and her dry wit was here. It made him feel better. “We just need to funnel it in. Spirtomb, get ready.”  
>  Yorra’s mouth twitched a smile. “On my cue.”  
>  Just as the Pheromosa was about to attack again, Yorra saw that it unknowingly ran around right into Spirtomb’s path. “Buttons! Channel it in with a Flamethrower!”  
>  “Buddy! Follow it up!”  
>  Both of the fiery house pets stood side by side as they launched blazing fire from their mouths. The flames built up a narrow wall that the Pheromosa dared not jump through. Throwing his cape back dramatically, Cody pointed at the bug. “Spirtomb. Use Foul Play.”  
>  A dark energy power encased the Pheromosa, and the true, nasty nature of Spirtomb shined through. Using the Ultra’s Beast own immense power instead of its own, the attack critically and heavily damaged it. Although a fighting Pokémon, Pheromosa was a glass cannon. Incredible destructive power, but a very brittle body with nothing to say for defenses. The Beauty fell to her knees, succumbing the excruciating pain.  
>  “Got you.”  
>  Around them, the second Buzzwole landed on top of the first. From the mountain range, the Nihilego fled next to the Pheromosa, hoping to have more success in a battle here than fighting Registeel and the others.  
>  Yorra felt in her heart that this battle was at its climax. All they needed was one last push. “Cody, think you can give it your all?”  
>  “If you can boss, I sure can.”  
>  “Good response.”  
>  Buttons and Buddy snarled once more, feeling the spirits of their trainers blaze from within.  
>  Grabbing his mega stone, Cody felt he could push his body just a little more. One attack was all he asked for. As his Houndoom transformed, the conscious Ultra Beasts quaked in fear from the menacing aura of two Pokémon stepping forward. They tried to look for an escape, but Spirtomb spread its shadow to make it appear as though that option was long lost to them.  
>  Together, Yorra and Cody let out their command, the tone of their attacks filled with no mercy for the Ultra Beasts.  
>  “Buttons! Outrage!”  
>  “Buddy! Inferno!”  
>  A magnificent blaze of pure power shot towards the Ultra Beasts. The fire of Aurolux scorched them all from head to toe, leaving them with burns imprinted on their very memories that this city was not to be invaded by them ever again. As the Nihilego screamed and thrashed, it had just enough of a conscious mind to open up a worm hole back to its own world. Grasping the other screaming and flailing Ultra Beasts, it retreated through the hole back from hence it came. With that, all the sounds that were left were a few sparks flickering in the wind.  
>  Cody deactivated the mega evolution as soon as he could. Already, he felt his lungs tighten. Breathing heavily, he winced as the chest wound oozed out. “We did it.”  
>  Yorra smiled warmly at Cody, if just for a brief moment. Unfortunately, her own previous wounds caught up with her in the moment and she had to take a knee. “Yeah, we did. Great job man.”  
>  “If I had the energy, I just might slap you. I told you we had this.”  
>  “Am I too assume that a cockroach stepping on your neck was just something kinky going on between the two of you then?” The sheer dryness of her voice cut the sarcasm deep. “Cody. I trusted you to keep an eye out for me while I stepped away for a little bit. But if I’m well enough to fight, then there’s no way I’m going to abandon my crew.”  
>  Cody slowly nodded, raising his head up to get more oxygen. “I assume you’re coming back then?”  
>  “Yeah. But you did a fantastic job.”  
>  “That means a lot, coming from you. At least I can finally take this costume off.”  
>  There was a quick pitter patter of steps behind him. Expecting Jess to come running up to them, Cody turned around. “Great work every-”  
>  With lightning fast reflexes, the one and only Jules Jagger threw herself into the air, landing a solid kick that planted itself against Cody’s chest wound. He fell onto his back, screaming aloud in agony. As Jules landed, she pointed at him, triumph on her face. “And that is for misdeeds vile villain! Aurolux City is safe! You ok Yorra?”  
>  Yorra was flabbergasted, but not overly surprised Jules would do such a thing. “Jules. The fuck.”  
>  “What?”  
>  As soon as the full impact of the pain stopped for Cody, and he could actually speak through the ragged breathing and screams, he let out a storm. “What the fucking shit is wrong with you!? You goddamn bitch you kicked me in my fucking chest wound you fucking stupid motherfucker! You’re part of the cheerleader squad, aren’t you?! I’ll get your scholarship pulled for this!”  
>  Jess and a few others were the first to come back to Cody. His Sharpedo immediately flew to his side, wanting to nuzzle him. “Not now Bruce!”  
>  Jules looked incredibly hurt and confused at the same time. “Wait, my scholarship? You’re a bad guy! You have bad guy written all over you with that costume and the… blood coming out of you.”  
>  “It’s a character act you… fuck.” Cody started to breath slowly again.  
>  Able to stand up, Yorra shook her head at Jules. “He’s one of my guys Jules. He stood in for me while I stayed at Aurolux Major for a short while.”  
>  “Get- get this mask off me.” As Jules bent down to help, Cody weakly kicked at her. “You just stay away from me Bimbo!”  
>  “Hey man, I know I wrecked your shit, but there’s no need to get vulgar. I can always make it up to you.”  
>  “I think I hate… I hate you. So, I doubt it.”  
>  Placing her hands under the slit off his mask, she tugged and pulled until it snapped off. Cody took a couple fresh breaths of air before looking at her gobsmacked. “You broke my mask.”  
>  “It felt like an emergency.”  
>  “Please, please leave me alone to die in peace.”  
>  “But you’re not-”  
>  “Either you walk away or I do my best to ruin your career. You want to help, go call an ambulance, because I am just too fucking livid with you buddy.”  
>  Cody took a couple sighs as Jules stepped away to make a call. Glancing at Jess, he weakly waved. “Heeeey. Good job.”  
>  “Cody! What happened to you?!”  
>  “Well, I got kicked pretty hard by a cheerleader.”  
>  Jess’ eyes widened to the size of dinner plates as she looked at Jules with awe and fright. “The Jagger’s can blow holes through people with a single kick!?”  
>  Yorra had to stop herself from laughing aloud. It was already funny to see Cody complain and Jules back peddle on the spot. “No Jess. No, she can’t. Just a battle injury.”  
>  Jules mulled it over. “You know, if word got out I defeated the Keystone King with a single kick, that’d do wonders for my rep.”  
>  Cody glared at her, then mulled it over in his own head. “It would be theatrical for a Jagger to defeat me. And I did say no Pokémon could beat me. But that doesn’t mean you can go ahead with that.”  
>  Dialing 911 on her phone, she bent down to pick up the mask she tore off. “I’m gonna go ahead with just that. So if we’re cool, then I’m keeping this as a trophy to show off.”  
>  As Cody kept scowling, Yorra bent down, grabbing potion sprays that could medicate him until professionals arrived. “She means well.”  
>  “I’m thinking working for you might be a hazard boss.”  
>  “Well, I’m issuing you a vacation. Hospital has good beds, excellent service, and a T.V from 10-6.”  
>  “Step down from Alola, that’s for sure.”  
>  Interrupting the conversation came the clicks and beeps and thunderous footsteps of Registeel. Xanatos was being carefully carried down by Metagross, held steady by Shiftry and Scizor as to not have his broken arm be nudged. The Titan spoke loudly to everyone in clicks and wiggles, booming its voice across the valley. Many of the wild Pokemon cowered at what it had to say. In turn, Metagross psychically translated Registeel’s message to Cody.  
>  “Huh.”  
>  “What?”  
>  “Abridged, Registeel is pissed that it had to be woken up by all the noise, and it hopes that it doesn’t have to return to the surface anytime soon. If so, it’ll come back with its family.”  
>  Yorra patted Buttons back, who didn’t appreciate the more threatening words that Registeel sprinkled in. “We got it.”  
>  With one more cry, the Titan slowly turned around, heading back towards the mountain tunnels. Feeling very tired after the day’s events, Cody settled on the ground. “Hey Xan… what happened to you.”  
>  “I broke my arm.”  
>  “You should… go see a doctor. I think I’m gonna close my eyes.”  
>  Jess pulled her hair, anxiety getting to her. “Are you going to die?”  
>  Cody couldn’t help but snicker. “No… I’m just really, really tired.”  
>  Yorra leaned over him, a light smile breaking through on her. “You earned some sleep and more. When you get out of the hospital, I’ll throw us a staff party. Rest for now Cody.”  
>  “Sure thing boss. Sure thing.” Closing his eyes, Cody drifted off as the sounds of an ambulance rang closer and closer. Despite the near-death experience and drama, it had been a fun week temping in Yorra’s position.


End file.
